On Saturday, a few posters came up in the Marathi heartland of central Mumbai pointing out how a series of projects - from International Financial Center to Airbus-Tata plant - are going to neighbouring Gujarat. It wondered whether this was the change that the ruling parties were promising. A typical Shiv Sena tactic? Probably, but it is an indication in which way the battle between the ruling and the opposition parties is headed.
The past few weeks have seen an intense tussle between the ruling BJP-Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena alliance and the Opposition parties especially the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena as both sides are trying to set the narrative or countering the same. It escalated further this week as the Opposition came down heavily on the ruling dispensation for losing the Airbus-Tata joint venture to manufacture C-295 military aircraft to Gujarat.
Setting a narrative either in its favour or against rival parties ahead of any election is always crucial and that is now being seen in the state. It began with the Thackeray faction taunting the rebels with “50 khokhe” alleging that they received ₹50 crore each for splitting the Shiv Sena. The “50 khoke” jibe reached across the state and became an irritant for Shinde’s MLAs.
And just when the dust seemed to be settling, the Vedanta-Foxconn controversy came in handy for Uddhav Thackeray. Sensing an opportunity to put the Shinde-Fadnavis government on the mat, Thackeray faction raised the issue of the 1 lakh jobs that the project would have generated in Maharashtra. Other Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi allies too joined in the chorus. Industries minister Uday Samant tried to wriggle out of the situation by talking about a potential major investment in the form of the Airbus-Tata plant at Nagpur. The move to prevent a narrative being set by the Opposition backfired this week after it became public that the production facility would now be set up at Vadodara. Leaders of the ruling alliance are blaming the previous MVA government for the entire fiasco.
{{/usCountry}}And just when the dust seemed to be settling, the Vedanta-Foxconn controversy came in handy for Uddhav Thackeray. Sensing an opportunity to put the Shinde-Fadnavis government on the mat, Thackeray faction raised the issue of the 1 lakh jobs that the project would have generated in Maharashtra. Other Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi allies too joined in the chorus. Industries minister Uday Samant tried to wriggle out of the situation by talking about a potential major investment in the form of the Airbus-Tata plant at Nagpur. The move to prevent a narrative being set by the Opposition backfired this week after it became public that the production facility would now be set up at Vadodara. Leaders of the ruling alliance are blaming the previous MVA government for the entire fiasco.
{{/usCountry}}The controversy also came at a time when the ruling parties were trying to figure out whether Uddhav Thackeray would get the sympathy of Sena’s traditional Marathi voter base in the upcoming civic polls. A good show by Sena in the civic polls could be a major setback for the ruling combine. The BJP has become cautious as Thackeray faction is trying to revive the Marathi identity card. It withdrew its candidate Murji Patel from the Andheri by-election as the Thackeray faction candidate Rutuja Latke seemed to be better placed to win the seat. Had the contest happened and BJP lost, it would have helped Thackeray faction to set the tone for the Mumbai civic polls.
The party also did not want the spectacle of an electoral fight between a Marathi candidate of Thackeray faction versus a Gujarati candidate of the BJP in a constituency where Marathi speaking voters are in a majority. The spurt in allegations against Sena leaders—Kishori Pednekar is the latest—could also come in handy for the party. Closer to the civic polls early next year, there could be more such allegations against top Thackeray faction leaders. Will it be ‘Maharashtra pride’ versus ‘corrupt politicians’ plank? It remains to be seen who will win this battle of narratives.
Curious case of Milind Narvekar
Milind Narvekar is back in the focus. This time due to the Shinde government’s decision to enhance his security. Especially when the security cover given to 20-odd leaders from opposition parties was scaled down or even withdrawn. It led to speculations whether the well-connected Shiv Sena functionary was on his way to the Shinde faction.
For a long time, Narvekar was a key aide for Uddhav Thackeray. In Sena’s internal politics in recent years, Narvekar and Shinde joined forces. As such, he was looked at with suspicion when Shinde rebelled against Thackeray’s leadership. Speculations of him joining the rebels were rife as videos of Shinde visiting his house on the occasion of Ganesh festival went viral.
However, four months after the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray led MVA government, Narvekar remains with Thackeray. According to the people close to him, Narvekar never hid the fact that he shared cordial relations with Shinde. Recently, he was active in the Mumbai Cricket Association elections. He was part of the panel led by Devendra Fadnavis’ friend Amol Kale and supported by NCP chief Sharad Pawar as well as Shinde. Narvekar was the only representative of the Thackeray faction. His networking skill was evident from the fact that he got highest votes among the candidates who were elected as apex council members of the MCA. Significantly, both Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray chose not to participate in the voting. Now with the latest episode, Narvekar’s moves are being closely watched. When asked about it, he responded: “I can’t stop people from speculating. I know where I am.”