A sound and light show called MVA

Over a dozen leaders of the three coalition partners have been publicly claiming how they can win particular seats and hence should get the same. Some senior MVA leaders are worried that the constant bickering between the three parties would create a negative image of the coalition

Bickering and squabbling seems to be the order of the day for the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Opposition coalition.

A sound and light show called MVA

Over the past few days, there has been a public display of squabbling at two levels. One, about sharing seats for Lok Sabha elections with each of the MVA partners—Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP and Congress—publicly staking claim on constituencies even before the beginning of seat-sharing talks. Over a dozen leaders of the three parties have been publicly claiming how they can win particular seats and hence should get the same. With Pune Lok Sabha by-elections (necessitated due to the demise of MP Girish Bapat) expected to be announced any time soon, both Congress and NCP have locked horns over the seat. In 2019, Congress had unsuccessfully contested the seat and NCP feels it can win it this time.

On the other hand, there has been a Sanjay Raut versus all war of words in progress for quite some time. In the latest round, Raut kicked up a controversy after he spat when mediapersons asked him a question about chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The incident evoked strong reactions with Shiv Sena workers staging protests against the Saamana editor. NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s reaction to the controversy, saying that everybody should speak sensibly, turned into another tiff as Raut reminded him about his infamous “urinating in the dam” remark (Ahead of 2014 elections, Ajit’s reply to a villager’s complaint whether one should urinate in the dam to solve water crisis had gone viral). State Congress chief Nana Patole has now announced that his party has decided not to give any reaction to utterances by Raut.

It is not only Raut whose remarks have caused controversies. Ajit Pawar has been making NCP’s alliance partners uneasy by frequently contradicting them, sometimes even his own party, while commenting on various issues. He has also been lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi every now and then.

Some senior MVA leaders are worried that the constant bickering between the three parties would create a negative image of the coalition. “Remember, Janata Dal was a good experiment to bring together socialist and progressive forces but fizzled out within a few years due to constant fighting among its leaders. And the third front has become a notorious word in national politics due to the infighting. It won’t be surprising if the MVA heads the same way as its leaders are more happy fighting with each other,” remarked a top MVA leader. Meanwhile, state BJP leaders are amused by this firework in the opposition camp.

Pankaja keeps them guessing

Once again, senior BJP leader Pankaja Munde has made her unhappiness known. Twice in the last week, she passed remarks to remind her party that she is not happy with the treatment given to her. Speaking at a function organised to observe the death anniversary of her father Gopinath Munde on Saturday, Pankaja even said she would soon meet her party leader (Pankaja considers Union home minister Amit Shah as her leader) and air her grievances and see what the party has in mind for her. Earlier at a function in Delhi, she had said that she belongs to the BJP, but the party doesn’t belong to her. On several occasions since she lost the 2019 assembly elections, Pankaja has been expressing her anguish over not being rehabilitated politically by sending her to the upper house of state legislature. She was even eyeing the post of the leader of the Opposition in the legislative council after the MVA government came to power, but it went to new entrant Pravin Darekar.

Pankaja is one of the prominent OBC leaders in the state and only woman leader of the party with an identity across the state. On different occasions, all three opposition parties sent feelers to her seeking to know if she wanted to quit BJP and join them. Pankaja, however, has kept them guessing. Even now, Pankaja as well as her sister MP Pritam have expressed dissent but are taking their time to decide whether they really want to quit the BJP or bargain for a better deal from the party.

Nirmala Sitharaman and double income of farmers

During her recent visit to Mumbai, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman interacted with editors and senior journalists on completion of nine years of the Modi government at the Center. As she recounted the achievements of the Union government, the finance minister was asked about BJP’s promise to double the income of farmers. Sitharaman replied that the promise needed to be seen in totality. On one hand, the government is giving direct cash benefit of ₹6,000 a year to the farmers, while on the other various measures are being taken, which are reducing the cost for them, she said. She then pointed out how the input costs for farmers have gone down due to subsidies and would be cut drastically once the electricity connection of farmers are shifted to solar power. For the FM, it seems, every rupee counts.