How Sanjay Raut’s crucial role in Shiv Sena brought him on the radar

His clout within Shiv Seva rose multifold after the MVA government led by party chief Uddhav Thackeray came into being on November 28, 2019

Mumbai: If Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar was the chief architect of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government formed in 2019, Sanjay Raut was the prime mover as he convinced Shiv Sena chose to join its ideological rivals and form a government without the BJP.

Sanjay Raut being taken from His House at Bhandup Mumbai to the ED office in Mumbai (Praful Gangurde / HT Photo)

The fact is acknowledged by the key leaders of the three parties in the alliance that ruled the state for 31 months. The move, however, brought Raut onto the radar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership as the party was deprived of power in a crucial state despite having emerged as the single largest party in the 2019 Assembly polls.

Shiv Sena’s bridge with parties like Congress and NCP, Uddhav Thackeray’s point-person in Delhi, party’s chief communicator and a face of Sena’s aggressive style of functioning, Raut has been playing a crucial role in the party for the past few years.

His clout within Shiv Seva rose multifold after the MVA government led by party chief Uddhav Thackeray came into being on November 28, 2019. He used to single-handedly retaliate against the attack by the opposition BJP on the MVA government through his daily press conferences outside his Bhandup residence or Samana office at Prabhadevi.

His aggressive, ‘no holds barred’ attack on BJP, its central leadership, including prime minister Narendra Modi, during his press conferences or in his Saamana columns would strongly defend the MVA government and his party.

“For Congress, Sena has always been ‘untouchable’ in the state, especially due to the latter’s anti-Muslim and anti-North Indian stand. Raut narrowed the gap by first convincing Congress leadership in the state, to bury the traditional differences to keep BJP away from power. But Raut was in talks with Pawars even before the election result to keep the BJP and especially Devendra Fadnavis out of power. The number of seats won by four major parties in 2019 Assembly polls played in favour of the plan,” the Sena leader said requesting anonymity.

This, however, put the Sena MP on a tricky wicket. “Raut was inviting the ire of the people and party he was attacking. It led to the action against him by the central agencies. The action comes at a time when the fierce tussle between the old friends BJP and Sena is at its peak. The action is also believed to be a message to the Sena leadership that it has reached your doorsteps,” the leader added.

They believe that the ED action has been initiated against two strong Sena leaders Raut and former minister Anil Parab, who are believed to be members of the ‘kitchen cabinet’ at Matoshree, the private residence of Thackeray.

Action against Raut has come at the time when the trusted lieutenants are most needed by Thackeray after the vertical split in the party. “With the probe pending against Parab, we anticipate action against him ahead of the local body polls. This would definitely hit the party when it is in the paralysed state,” a party leader and former minister said.

Raut, the four-term Rajya Sabha member, has always been part of the party leadership, though during the Bal Thackeray era he would keep a low profile.

A leader close to Matoshree said that Raut was always seen as a trouble-shooter in times of crisis. Raut had to face the anger of the Shiv Sena workers when he attempted reconciliation between Raj Thackeray and Sena after Raj parted his ways in 2005.

Party insiders believe that it was initiated with the approval of the Matroshree. A year before that, during another jolt to the party when former chief minister Narayan Rane quit the party in 2005, Raut was one of the key leaders appointed by Bal Thackeray to regain the home turf in Sindhudurg after the revolt.

60-year-old Raut began as a journalist after a brief stint as a clerk in a Marathi weekly in 1980s. His specialisation was crime reporting and later shifted to political reporting. Thackeray, who was the founder editor of the party mouthpiece Saamana, appointed Raut as executive editor when he was in his early thirties.

“Saamana under him helped the party in communicating its stand to cadre in an impressive manner. His aggressive style of writing that strikes a chord with party workers helped Saamana to establish itself as a mouthpiece in a true sense” said a senior colleague of Raut. Under Raut, Saamna became a key part of Sena by amplifying Thgackeray’s communication, not with just the party workers but also with the party’s support base.

Barring a couple of times when Bal Thackeray or Uddhav Thackeray publicly rebutted Raut for the editorials in Saamana, the Sena leadership stood by Raut’s ‘tone and tenor’ in the party mouthpiece.

Raut, however, has no dearth of detractors within the party. They blame the leader for ‘misguiding’ the party chief and also for the unwarranted attack on BJP.

One of them said that his ‘dead body’ remarks against 40 rebel MLAs who were lodged in Guwahati, has hurt the Sena’s legal battle with the defectors. He said that the remarks are being used by rebels to project that they were under duress from the ruling Shiv Sena. The MP is also criticised for his closeness with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and teased whether he is the spokesperson of Sena or that of Pawar-led NCP.

Mumbai-based political analyst Hemant Desai said, “BJP leaders firmly believed that Raut was the key spoiler in their relationship with the Sena. His role in bringing three parties together to form MVA in 2019 was another reason why he had always remained on the ‘hit list’ of the BJP. Raut never hesitated in siding with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and openly proposed his name for the post of UPA president or the president of India. The action against Raut is seen as a message to Uddhav Thackeray.”

Raut in a tweet immediately done after the raids by the ED tried to suggest that he was under pressure (like other Sena leaders) to quit the party (and join either the Shinde camp or the BJP). He also added that he will never quit the Sena and will continue to fight for it till his last breath.

“I can swear on Balasaheb Thackeray to say that I have nothing to do with the alleged scam. Balasaheb taught us to fight and I will keep fighting for the party. I will prefer to die but will never succumb (to pressure)….,” he tweeted.

His party colleague and South Mumbai MP Arvind Sawant said that it was an attempt to pressurise Uddhav Thackeray by taking an action against Raut. “It is an attempt to pressurise our party chief (to give in the ongoing political battle), by taking action against the leader close to him. Why no action is being taken by the ED against the leaders who joined the Shinde camp or the BJP,” he questioned.

The Sena leaders also feel that the action on Sunday was to deflect attention from the controversy over Governor B S Koshyari’s remarks about Mumbai that the city would not be the financial capital without Gujaratis and Marwaris. BJP said the action had nothing to do with politics.

“Why did not Raut respond to the ED summons three days ago? ED never takes any action without proof. The central agency has established money trails to prove the wrongdoings. Instead of giving false narratives, the Sena leaders should face the probe. Why are they worried if they have done nothing wrong,” BJP leader Ram Kadam said.