It is said that it was Sharad Pawar who had advised Uddhav Thackeray, who had separated from BJP after being upset, to become the Chief Minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, but now that is a thing of the past. He has become the wall in the way of Uddhav Thackeray becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra again – and this has not happened suddenly.
Uddhav Thackeray was trying for a long time. In this connection, Uddhav Thackeray had come to Delhi with his son Aditya Thackeray. He met other leaders of India Block. He had a special meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, but no one said anything openly. Even after he had openly told his Mann Ki Baat through the media.
During the question-answer session, Uddhav Thackeray had told the media, if my colleagues feel that I have done an excellent job, then ask them if they want me as the Chief Minister? Uddhav Thackeray also tried to clear his stand, I did not dream of becoming the Chief Minister, nor did I want it… but I am not going to run away from responsibility either… I took responsibility, and tried to perform to the best of my ability… If my colleagues feel that I have done an excellent job, then ask them if they want to see me as the Chief Minister? People will decide.
Although Sharad Pawar is still saying that there is no dispute in MVA regarding the post of Chief Minister. And a similar statement has come from Aditya Thackeray as well, but now it is certain that like Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar’s NCP and Congress will also have to perform well to get the post of Chief Minister for themselves. It seems that Sharad Pawar, who has been involved in cricket politics for a long time, has made the post of Chief Minister in Maharashtra like a medal.
If seen, Sharad Pawar has not rejected Uddhav Thackeray’s claim, but by imposing a condition, he has put a hurdle in his path. Now it is also clear from Sharad Pawar’s statement that Mahavikas Aghadi’s allies Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) are not going to announce the chief ministerial face before the elections.
Why did Uddhav Thackeray want the announcement of the Chief Ministerial face?
Uddhav Thackeray never said directly that he wanted to be the face for the post of Chief Minister, but the intention was the same. And many leaders of Shiv Sena who are part of his party were also touting Uddhav Thackeray’s name for the CM face.
Yes, when he saw that his advice was not being heeded, he said something that the allies would have definitely taken badly. In fact, Uddhav Thackeray even said that if Congress and NCP (SP) have a face, they should announce it… we will support it.
It seems that the allies took Uddhav Thackeray’s statement as a sarcasm and took it as a challenge. Nobody will like this. Everyone has faces, now whether they are equal to Uddhav Thackeray or not can be debated separately. However, as the controversy escalated, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said, Uddhav Thackeray is a former Chief Minister, and his face is acceptable to everyone in Maharashtra… What wrong has he said by asking Congress and NCP to announce their CM face? He has shown his generosity.
Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole has been talking about Congress forming a government on its own since the time Uddhav Thackeray was the Chief Minister. Recently, he is also angry with Uddhav Thackeray over seat sharing in the Legislative Council elections – firstly, he is considered close to Rahul Gandhi, and secondly, there must be some special purpose behind leaving BJP and joining Congress.
And why would Sharad Pawar not want someone from his own party to become the Chief Minister. It was a different matter in 2019. Now he can also push the name of his daughter Supriya Sule, because now the thorn named Ajit Pawar is also removed from the way – such thoughts must have come to Uddhav Thackeray’s mind too, but he expressed what was in his mind regarding the post of Chief Minister and had to face the consequences.
In Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar said that regarding the face for the post of Chief Minister, first it will have to be seen how many candidates of which party get elected, after that the decision will be taken according to the strength of numbers.
Now the question arises that why does Uddhav Thackeray want to announce the chief ministerial face of INDIA Block in Maharashtra?
It seems that Uddhav Thackeray is hoping that if he is declared the face for the post of Chief Minister, then his share of Shiv Sena’s seats can increase by ten to twenty. The problem is that the right allies of the alliance must be thinking the same. The alliance of opposition parties in Maharashtra, Mahavikas Aghadi, is like the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, but after the Lok Sabha elections, all such alliances have started contesting elections under the banner of India Block.
What is going on in Sharad Pawar’s mind regarding Uddhav
In fact, the results of the Lok Sabha elections have ignited this fire in the Mahavikas Aghadi. Before the elections, neither Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena nor Sharad Pawar’s NCP would have expected a better performance, but the election results have filled them with renewed confidence – and the confidence of the Congress must have reached the sky in Maharashtra. Congress has won the maximum number of 13 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, while Uddhav Thackeray got only 9 and Sharad Pawar got only 8 seats.
The important thing to note is how Sharad Pawar’s statement should be seen? What is going on in his mind?
Does Sharad Pawar really not want to see Uddhav Thackeray as the Chief Minister even in the event of Maha Vikas Aghadi’s electoral victory? Or does he want to balance the political equations in Maharashtra as per his wish?
If we look at it, it is Congress getting stronger and not Shiv Sena that is a matter of concern for Sharad Pawar, because both of them have the same political line. Uddhav Thackeray is his answer to BJP, through whom he can create obstacles in the path of BJP whenever required.
It seems that Sharad Pawar wants Uddhav Thackeray to emerge as a powerful man even after the assembly elections, but the number of MLAs should remain almost equal to that of his NCP. If this happens, pressure can be maintained on Congress, otherwise Nana Patole can play his game anytime. He has come here after being angry with the BJP. If Eknath Khadse can join the queue for homecoming, then why not Nana Patole. Nana Patole’s case is a bit difficult, because Eknath Khadse left the BJP because of Devendra Fadnavis and Nana Patole has already given statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
What is the strategy of Congress in Maharashtra?
Nana Patole may have his own plans for Maharashtra politics. The problem for Uddhav Thackeray is that Nana Patole himself wants to become CM. And if he cannot become CM, he will be happy that at least Uddhav Thackeray cannot become CM.
But Rahul Gandhi is moving ahead keeping in mind the all India nature of Congress. The initiative of Congress to form an electoral alliance with Aam Aadmi Party in Haryana is telling this. Certainly, Nana Patole, being a trusted and close person, can try to explain his point to Rahul Gandhi, but Rahul Gandhi used to do whatever he wanted even earlier, now a lot has changed.
If we try to understand the stand of Congress in Haryana, then Rahul Gandhi wants to keep Congress in the role of kingmaker in Maharashtra – because Congress wants to become powerful at the center, so that it can directly challenge BJP.
It remains to be seen how Uddhav Thackeray reacts to Sharad Pawar’s formula? What decision does he take? Once, after a dispute over the post of Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray had even broken the alliance with BJP – is he having similar thoughts about Mahavikas Aghadi as well?
Follow us On Social Media Google News and Twitter/X