100 days on, review of MVA government’s performance

When the Uddhav Thackeray-led government took oath on November 28 last year, the foremost question in the minds of the citizenry was how long will this social experiment

When the Uddhav Thackeray-led government took oath on November 28 last year, the foremost question in the minds of the citizenry was how long will this social experiment – a three-party coalition of ideological rivals last.

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On Friday, as the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) completes 100 days in power, often stumbling and contradicting itself over ideologically thorny issues, the question over the government’s political stability stays, but has now lost its urgency.

The more important question is what this government will achieve, given the gaping faultlines are already visible on issues ranging from the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) to Elgar Parishad probe and reservation for Muslims.

To make up for the inherent rift within the government, much of its time is likely to go in working out acceptable compromises on these issues. For instance, on Thursday, Thackeray set up a ministerial committee of six ministers led by Sena minister Anil Parab to finalise the party’s stance on NPR and CAA.

In the past 100 days, the Thackeray-led government then has little to show, except for the promised loan waiver for small farmers. To the government’s credit, the waiver has been rolled out smoothly without glitches, unlike its predecessors. But other than that, there is no clarity over Thackeray’s overall vision for the state.

“The budget on Friday will spell out the overall roadmap for the state. Within 100 days, we have succeeded in rolling out a loan waiver, which has already reached nine lakh farmers. We have implemented a thali for ₹10. You can expect citizen-friendly sops and schemes from our government,” said NCP leader and minister Nawab Malik.

A Shiv Sena leader told HT that assuring employment to over six lakh youth, revamping public schools and dispensaries on the lines of Arvind Kejriwal’s government in Delhi was also on the cards and Thackeray had a clear vision for the state.

Overall, political analysts and observers in Maharashtra feel that despite the noise over their many differences, this government will survive for more than half of its tenure, if not full five years. “Political preservation and the need to keep the BJP out of power will ensure this government will last. They will last until they stick to the common minimum programme,” said Prakash Bal, political analyst.

Bal added that despite the hiccups over issues such as the NPR and Elgar Parishad, both Thackeray and Pawar wanted to make this government last, to recoup lost political base to the BJP. “The Congress has little choice and initiative,” he added.

Pune-based political analyst Nitin Birmal agreed that even the Congress would not pull the plug off the government until much after the Bihar and West Bengal polls, gauging the mood of the nation then. Birmal believes that the MVA government may fall eventually earlier than its complete tenure given that the Congress is unlikely to tie up with the Sena ahead of the 2024 polls.

“Political reality is these three parties need to stay in power for now. I see the Shiv Sena is focusing on its urban base, pushing an agenda for citizens in Mumbai, Thane, Konkan besides delivering on promises such as loan waiver for farmers and improving crop insurance. The NCP is similarly looking at winning back its lost space in rural areas and co-operative sector,” said Birmal.

Both the NCP and Sena as primarily regional parties can also stay together as allies fronting Maharashtra’s development and pride as a common poll plank. Despite that, for now, there is little doubt that Thackeray is treading cautiously as the chief minister.

His visit to Delhi last month showed he was unwilling to antagonise former ally-turned-foe the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) even as he sets his house with the Congress and NCP. As his government completes 100 days, he has planned a visit to Ayodhya to the Ram temple, underlining his Hindutva ideology.

While BJP sees this as hypocrisy, the three-party coalition government sees nothing two-faced about it. “Both the loan waiver that they have supposedly implemented and the ₹-10 Shiv Bhojan thali that they have rolled out is so limited in its scope that it has not helped the farmers or the poor. They may stay together but it will come at a huge cost to the development of the state,” said BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari.