Uddhav Thackeray's call: Let's do it solo

What Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray achieved through his Dussehra speech cannot get him bigger political results immediately, but it surely gave the party workers a sense that their leader could attack the BJP's central leadership without any inhibitions. It also showed them that their chief could do so even at the cost of a channel that the Sena leadership was reported to have kept open with some top people in the BJP. But the achievement of attacking doesn't come without fear of retaliation – the form in which the response should be coming.

Purely political in its structure, the chief minister's webcast didn't have much to offer on the vision that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) might have thought of ahead of completing one year in the office. But Sena did give out a good message and earned kudos by avoiding a big gathering at this year's Dussehra rally that is usually held at the Shivaji Park. The party held a small event in an auditorium with only 50 people in attendance. Thackeray sounded very earnest when he said, "Why should we break the rules that we have made for ourselves?", while making a subtle reference to the political events that are attracting huge crowds in other states.

Beyond Cong's expectations

Thackeray's statements were well received by the MVA partners who yearn for the Sena-BJP's permanent break-up, and work diligently to take the Sena further away from the BJP. A Congress leader told me that the speech actually added new strength to the three-party bond. "We didn't expect Thackeray to go all out against the BJP's leadership, whom he had not targeted as fiercely in the past. I think the BJP took the fight straight into Thackeray's family and it is where it hurt him most. We, especially the Congress, stood by the family very strongly," said the leader, adding that the CM's move could be a catalyst for many more developments to unfold to keep the MVA going stronger. But the Congress leader had a word of caution for the Sena. "We are in the government because we want to keep the BJP away. We don't trouble the formation much. But the CM will have to be very careful about the NCP that plays a bigger role in influencing the government. They will have to come to some understanding as the government steps into the second year this month," said the leader.

Fight within

A day after the Congress leader made an observation, a clash of ambitions between the Sena and NCP came up when the Sena talked of making a government without crutches. Having got a booster from the party chief, the Sena leaders were given yet another message by the CM a couple of days after the Dussehra address, "We have to make the government on our own." The statement created a flutter, making people think of the Sena's swollen ambition. Sharad Pawar's response, when it was sought, was telling. He said, "I have been hearing about it for the past 30 years." True, it is. No single party has ever gone close to a simple majority mark in the house of 288 since the 1990 elections. In 2014, the BJP did the best ever by crossing a hundred mark, a feat for any principal party in 30 years. But it needed Sena to stabilise the government, which, post 2019 elections, didn't run in the BJP-Sena alliance despite the BJP getting 100 odd MLAs on the trot.

It was the Sena's ambition to appoint its CM at any cost that kept the BJP's mandate rotting. And now the party's first family has a CM and the Thackerays' cannot let it go just like that. Uddhav Thackeray has an heir in waiting and naturally, he would want Aaditya to have a number much larger than the existing in the next elections, be it full-term or mid-term. The NCP is equally ambitious, and like every other term in Mantralaya it is using the offices at its disposal to revive the vote base and strengthen the leaders and institutes that make it politically stronger at the grassroot level.

The Sena couldn't do much in this direction when it was in alliance with the BJP. The opportunity is knocking on its doors mainly because it has the CM's office which can make a difference, if used effectively. A Congress leader called it a 'fight within'. "The Congress and NCP did it extensively between 1999 and 2014. The NCP's flexibility and unilateral command gave it an advantage over us. Off late, the Sena also has become flexible and has one command centre. This fight should intensify as we spend more time together in the MVA," he said.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore

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