New Delhi: The Maha Vikas Aghadi is staring at a massive defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections and the biggest loser undoubtedly is former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. In the last three years, Uddav has not only lost power in the state and his party, but also his father Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy.
The Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde had been alleging Uddhav of compromising his father’s principles for political gain and termed the electoral fight as a test of “Who is the real Shiv Sena”. After the Mahayuti inched closer to a landslide win, Shinde declared that it was an ideological victory.
Among the first to announce it an ideological victory was Shrikant Shinde, son of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Taking a swipe at Uddhav Thackeray, he said that Shiv Sena is not a private limited company… the people have shown who is truly upholding Balasaheb’s ideals. His father had previously pointed at Uddhav’s alliance with the Congress and Sharad Pawar as the primarily reason behind his rebellion in 2021. Though, his comments seemed out of place, especially as the BJP was attributing it to the alliance’s achievements.
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But, PM Narendra Modi backed Eknath Shinde’s claim that Uddhav had digressed from the ideology established by his father in pursuit of power. Ahead of the election, he dubbed Uddav as “Nakli Santaan” (fake child) of the Sena founder.
In a sharp reaction, Uddhav had said that after such an insult, he would never join any alliance that includes the BJP. In response to the BJP’s statement that Rahul Gandhi had never accepted Bal Thackeray, he also said that the Congress leader had never “questioned his antecedents”.
All of this may now return to haunt the Sena UBT chief, as BJP backers take to social media and lambast Uddhav.
Raut remarks draw a flak
Since morning, Sanjay Raut, Uddhav’s closest aide, has faced trolling as the margin of the Mahayuti victory became clear and Election Commission showed Shinde’s Sena faction leading on 57 seats, compared to the 18 of the Uddhav Thackeray faction.
Raut alleged that money played a role in the polls, and questioned how all MLAs of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde could win. He asked how can Ajit Pawar, whose betrayal angered Maharashtra, win? Raut saw a big plot at play, and stated, “This is not a mandate from the Marathi ‘manoos’ and farmers… We do not accept this as the people’s mandate. Something is fishy about the election results.” Social media users criticised Raut for his remarks.
The losses for the MVA come just six months after the alliance’s stunning performance in the Lok Sabha elections, which many believe indicated voters’ disapproval of the political chaos over the last two years, which included the split in the Shiv Sena, the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray government, and the split in Sharad Pawar’s NCP.
However, in the following months, the ruling alliance worked very hard to secure a stunning victory, which now leaves the MVA with very few seats, even in the Rajya Sabha.
Rattled Uddhav needs a new roadmap
Ahead of the bypolls, Uddhav, who had always been seen as a soft-spoken and friendly person, became aggressive in his tone and challenged the BJP’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “Either you survive or I,” Uddhav had said at a party meeting. Fadnavis is now being seen as the frontrunner for the state’s top post.
Uddav’s journey has been a roller-coaster ride. In 2012, when Bal Thackeray died, many thought that the Shiv Sena will lose its sway. But Uddhav kept the party flock together and the party emerged more stronger and came to be seen as a mature political organisation.
When there was a rift in Shiv Sena and BJP as they contested polls independently in 2014, Uddhav gave a huge push to his political campaign and the Shiv Sena emerged as the second largest party in the state assembly after the BJP. However, it joined hands with the BJP as it formed the government.
In 2019, he severed ties with the BJP over CM row. After this, he tied up with the Congress and Sharad Pawar to form government and headed it. After two-and-a-half years, Uddhav faced rebellion from Eknath Shinde and his MLAs. Uddhav didn’t yield and kept his alliance with the Congress and Sharad Pawar. It cost him his post. Now, with Mahayuti posting a spectacular victory, Uddav will need to work on a new roadmap for comeback.
