Maharashtra: BJP upset after Sena ad projects Shinde more popular than Fadnavis

BJP Maharashtra state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that 2024 polls will tell who is more popular

An advertisement put out in regional and national newspapers by the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde has upset the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in the state, bringing the fissures between the two ruling parties to the fore.

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. (File)

The full-page advertisement was run with a headline ‘Modi for India, Shinde for Maharashtra’ and it carried a survey report that projected Shinde as more popular than deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The BJP had projected Fadnavis as the face of the state unit of the party in the previous election of 2019 through similar advertisements. The advertisements in Marathi with the pictures of Modi and Fadnavis was run with the slogan ‘Deshat Narendra, Rajyat Devendra (Narendra for nation, Devendra for the state).

The latest advertisement said, “According to the election surveys, 30.2% of citizens of the state prefer BJP, while 16.2% prefer Shiv Sena led by Shinde. This shows 46.4% of people trust the ruling alliance for the development of the state.”

“According to the surveys done for the chief minister’s position, 26.1% of the population desire to see Shinde as the CM, while 23.2% give preference to Fadnavis. Thus, 49.3% of the state population wish to see a strong ruling alliance for the state’s leadership,” it added.

However, reacting to it, BJP’s state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that 2024 polls will tell who is more popular.

“Such advertisements or surveys have no value, as the people of the state decide who is more popular. The advertisement does not bear any significance. The people of the state will decide who is more popular in 2024-elections. One thing is clear, people of Maharashtra love the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Modiji. Fadnavisji was sworn in as the CM twice and is popular among the people. The advertisement has carried Shinde’s picture because he is chief minister of the state,” he said.

School education minister and Shiv Sena-Shinde faction leader Deepak Kesarkar said, “The percentage of the popularity of the CM and DCM is collectively 59%. If there is an error in the advertisement, we will rectify it.”

Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal said, “The advertisements given by government generally carry the photographs of both the leaders, but surprisingly this time Fadnavis’s photograph is missing from the advertisement. I am also surprised about the figures quoted in the advertisement as the authenticity of these figures is in question. I am sure the two ruling parties will resort to damage control exercise, but such things widen the rift between the parties leading to rising discontent among the followers. I am sure Fadnavis’ followers must be upset over it.”

Excise minister and Shinde faction leader Shambhuraj Desai said that the advertisement has not created any rift between the ruling parties. “The percentage of the popularity pertains to the ruling alliance and not only any of the parties. I have spoken to Fadanvis saheb and will speak to other BJP leaders to weed out any discontent if any within alliance. There are no differences within the ruling alliance, but some (opposition) are trying to engineer one. We will sort this out with mutual deliberation,” he said.

Earlier, the Shiv Sena led by Shinde was upset over BJP’s claim on Kalyan and Thane seats and on reports that the BJP wants to drop 4 to 5 Shinde camp ministers for nonperformance and controversies.

Kesarkar said that the reports that the BJP wants four to five ministers from Shinde faction to be dropped, have no substance.