After the results of the 2019 Assembly elections, Uddhav
Thackeray joined hands and formed an unnatural political alliance with the
Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. Only to grab the chief ministerial
position, Uddhavrao didn’t mind to break the age-old ties with the Bharatiya
Janata Party and form a tripartite arrangement with Congress-NCP. The alliance
between the BJP and the erstwhile Shiv Sena was formed on the strong grounds of
Hindutva ideology. But Thackeray compromised this ideology and collaborated to
form the Maha Vikas Aghadi. And this led him to compromise on Balasaheb’s
strong Hindutva ideologies on many occasions.
Had Uddhav Thackeray lived up to Balasaheb’s ideologies,
he would have shown the courage to get Sharjeel Usmani arrested for instigating
communal passions and hatred against the Hindu community. But he failed to do
it. Uddhav Thackeray also falsely implicated the BJP saying that the BJP had
assured to give him chief ministerial position for two-and-a-half years and had
not kept the promise. Of course, the Congress and the NCP had suddenly got to
taste the fruits of power and hence they did not mind the alliance with Uddhav
Thackeray.
Being in power was the only common thread and motto that
had united these parties and Maharashtra had to bear its consequences. MVA
largely contributed to the downfall of Maharashtra during its two-and-a-half
year’s tenure. Not only did industries go out of the state, but many instances
also took place that maligned the image of the state. In short, MVA was the
worst thing to have happened to Maharashtra. It seems that the trio had
collaborated only with the magnet of power. And the moment they lost power, the
trio separated and their differences started coming to the fore.
The trio spent two-and-a-half years quite contentedly.
Apparently, power was the only ‘fevicol’ that had bonded them together. But the
moment they stepped down from power, their magnetic attraction disappeared and
the differences of these opportunists started coming to the fore. In the
forthcoming Legislative Council elections to five seats, the differences
between Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena, the Congress and the NCP have become glaring.
The Congress, that had at some point, enjoyed power over the state and the
country, did not find an apt candidate for one of the Legislative Council seats.
Also, a candidate that the Congress wanted to field from one of its seats
refused to fill the nomination form. It has also been seen that the Congress
and the NCP do not seem to even consider Uddhav Thackeray’s leftover Sena. And
hence, I reiterate that the ‘oneness’ shown when the trio were in power no
longer exists.
The Congress does not have a candidate for the Nashik
Teachers’ Constituency and its candidate from Amravati Teachers’ Constituency
withdrew before contesting. The Congress, the NCP and Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena
have fielded separate candidates each for the Nagpur Teachers’ Constituency.
Uddhavrao, who betrayed the BJP and compromised the principles of Hindutva, had
to swallow the dose of practical bitterness in politics. Also, while in power,
the NCP had continuously tried to clip the wings of Uddhavrao’s Sena and the
Congress. They had made sure that Uddhav Thackeray’s elected representatives do
not get the allocated development funds for their constituencies. And Thackeray
had to gulp this insult also to survive in politics. On several occasions,
these parties had to retreat to hold on to power.
Since Uddhav Thackeray betrayed Hindutva ideology, his
MLAs who did not approve of it, distanced themselves and joined hands with the
BJP. And then, one of their MLAs – Eknath Shinde became the chief minister.
Uddhav Thackeray, who lived under the illusion that he will continue to be the
chief minister for the complete five years tenure, could not bear this shock.
His urge for power made him exercise revengeful politics. After losing power,
he has got helpless. It was only due to the virtues of venerable Balasaheb,
that Uddhav Thackeray had got an organisation of aggressive Sainiks. All his
life, venerable Balasaheb had opposed the Congress and anti-Hindu forces. An
honest attempt was made to give justice to the Marathi Manoos through
organizations like the Sthanik Lokadhikar Samiti. Uddhavrao had never faced
these challenges. He never mastered the technique of managing both the party
workers and the organisation. And hence the common worker never felt one with
Uddhav Thackeray.
When he was the chief minister, he was overwhelmed by
power. But now that he stepped down from the position, he has finally come to
terms. The loyal voters of the Bharatiya Janata Party had always supported
Uddhav Thackeray. Congress and the NCP never felt the need to worry about
Uddhav Thackeray. And now this Aghadi has nowhere to go. Prakash Ambedkar
showed Uddhavrao the carrot and Uddhavrao began imagining the alliance of Shivshakti-Bhimshakti.
In the current scenario it seems that Uddhav Thackeray is left with no other
option than to travel to different thresholds to retain his political
existence. While getting dragged by the Congress and the NCP, he will still
have to pursue other leaders like Prakash Ambedkar.
The might of Uddhavrao’s Leftover Sena, Congress and NCP
will truly be put to test during the forthcoming Municipal Corporation
elections. Uddhavrao wants to retain power in the Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation. And for that he will have to join hands and accept the terms laid
down by the Congress, the NCP and even those laid down by leaders like Prakash
Ambedkar. As children, we must have heard the story of a king whose life was
trapped in a parrot. Today Uddhav Thackeray is that king whose life currently
revolves only around the BMC. These leaders seem to be worried that if they
lose power in the BMC, all their bad deeds will come to light.
The Congress and NCP leaders are not worried about their political existence. And hence they do not necessarily need to continue their alliance with Uddhav Thackeray. Also, there is no guarantee that the Congress and NCP will continue their alliance with Uddhav Thackeray for the forthcoming local self-government body elections. Within six months of losing power, the distress in the alliance became evident. This has adversely affected Uddhav Thackeray. With every passing day, this distress will continue to increase and by the time the Thackeray scion realizes that breaking ties with the BJP was his biggest mistake, it will be too late.
(Article Pre-Published in Times of India - 16 Jan. 2023)
Keshav Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson
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