In Maharashtra, no CM face in either camp

MVA leaders won’t project a CM face for the upcoming elections, prioritizing victory over leadership, while BJP plans a similar approach.

With Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders making it clear that they will not project a chief ministerial face, it is now certain that both the rival alliances will contest the assembly election without one. On Sunday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that the issue was no more a priority, as winning the assembly election was on the top of the agenda for the opposition coalition. MVA insiders say that the Sena (UBT) has accepted the stand of its allies on not projecting a chief minister.

On Sunday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that the issue pf projecting a CM face was no more a priority, as winning the assembly election was on the top of the agenda for the opposition coalition. (Hindustan Times)

Following the interaction with the media where Thackeray made his stand clear, Congress leaders were fairly relieved. “We know the Thackeray faction has to maintain the stance for political reasons, but his accepting our stand on the chief ministership is definitely a relief for now,” remarked a top Congress leader. On the other side of the political divide, the BJP has also made it clear that nobody will be projected as the CM candidate if the Mahayuti retains power. While the Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde is not exactly happy with the decision, leaders of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP are satisfied. While they have differences on almost everything, the two alliances have something in common.

When Aaditya Thackeray mimicked Eknath Shinde

For the first time since he was formally introduced to the party, Aaditya Thackeray addressed the Shiv Sena (UBT) Dussehra rally on Saturday. In his short but aggressive speech, Aaditya launched an attack on the ruling alliance and even cautioned that officers who were party to the “illegal decisions” of the Shinde government would have to face the music when the MVA came to power. A highlight of his speech was the way he mimicked chief minister Eknath Shinde by scratching his beard.

While mimicry used to be a characteristic of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s speeches, his son Uddhav rarely does that. The senior Thackeray’s style on this front has been picked up by nephew Raj, who does a perfect mimicry of rival politicians and sometimes even allies. Aaditya does it less frequently but Sunday was one such occasion. When chief minister Shinde later spoke at his rally at Azad Maidan, he retorted that it was the dadhi (beard) that destroyed the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

When Ajit Pawar said he didn’t want to stand

At a press conference called by him to admit Marathi actor Sayaji Shinde to his party, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar stood up when it was his turn to speak, but the camerapersons of television channels requested him to continue sitting. Pawar quipped: “This is what I have been telling my people. Don’t make me ‘stand’ (the verb used in Marathi to denote contesting an election) and now these people are not letting me sit.” As laughter filled the air, he added, “You know what I’m talking about.” Later, when reporters quizzed him about his decision to contest from Baramati, he emphasised that it was the local party workers who were insisting that he contest from Baramati and not any other place.

Problem of plenty

Although Ajit Pawar recently taunted his uncle Sharad Pawar’s party, saying that it was poaching on his party because it did not have candidates, the problem the NCP (SP) is facing in some constituencies is quite the opposite. There is more than one candidate for these seats and, in some cases, a loyalists-versus-new-entrants tussle. Those who stuck with the senior Pawar in the Lok Sabha elections after Ajit split the party are calling themselves loyalists and expressing unhappiness that new entrants who did not stand by the NCP (SP) chief in his bad days are being given entry, as the party is looking at candidates with potential to win. The biggest show of unhappiness was in Indapur where the party’s potential candidates and other Pawar loyalists held a rally to protest against the entry given to Harshvardhan Patil, and announced their plan to field one of them as an independent candidate.

Sunil Dutt’s band of MLAs

With the death of Baba Siddique, a member of the late Sunil Dutt’s band of MLAs, as it was known in party circles, has gone. In 2004, the Congress experienced some sort of miracle when it won all six assembly seats under Dutt’s (then Mumbai North West) constituency. There was a UPA government at the Centre and Dutt was a union minister (he died a year later in 2005). The election of the six MLAs became easier due to Dutt’s goodwill. They were Baba Siddique (Bandra), J C Chandurkar (Kherwadi—now Bandra East), Ashok Jadhav (Vile Parle), Baldev Khosa (Amboli), Kripashankar Singh (Santacruz) and Suresh Shetty (Andheri). Two decades later, none of them are legislators. Kripashankar Singh is in the BJP while the other four are still active in the party but have either not contested elections in ten years or not won them.