Amid growing tensions within Maharashtra’s ruling parties, the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Deputy CM and State BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on June 13 cancelled his visit to Kolhapur district citing ‘medical reasons’.
Friction arose between the ‘Mahayuti’ (translated ‘grand alliance’) partners after a newspaper advertisement placed by the Shinde-led Sena cited a survey which claimed Mr. Shinde was more preferred as the State’s CM than Mr. Fadnavis.
Leaders from the Shinde camp scrambled to downplay any differences between their party and the BJP over the survey while the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) pooh-poohed the government’s survey, saying it was “laughable” that the Shinde camp had deployed an agency to conduct a survey obviously favourable to them.
“There are no differences between the BJP and the Shiv Sena. Mr. Fadnavis has cancelled his visit owing to medical reasons. We were all present at the state cabinet meeting today where we discussed government schemes and how they can benefit more people,” said Deepak Kesarkar, who is spokesman for the Shinde camp and Guardian Minister of Kolhapur.
At the same time, Mr. Kesarkar said that if there had been a mistake while given the advertisement, “it could be corrected.”
The full-page advertisement with the flaming headline “Modi for India, Shinde for Maharashtra” featured a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi chatting amicably with Mr. Shinde. There were no photos of either Shiv Sena founder, the late Bal Thackeray nor Mr. Fadnavis, hinting that Mr. Shinde would continue as CM should his Sena faction and the BJP win the 2024 general and State Assembly elections.
As per the advertisement, 26.1% of those surveyed desired to see Mr. Shinde as CM while 23.2% wished to see Devendra Fadnavis as the next CM.
“It means that a total 49.3% of those surveyed have given their approval for Mr. Shinde and Mr. Fadnavis,” said the advertisement citing the survey.
The survey, carried by a private agency, also claimed that the public wished to see the BJP-Shinde Sena government for a second term with 30.2% of the people rooting for the BJP while 16.2% preferring the Shinde-led Sena.
Reacting to the survey, Mr. Shinde said: “The public have given me their blessings and affection. They have liked both me and Mr. Fadnavis, so our responsibilities have now increased… We are both leading the State as its heads. The development so long sought by the common man is evident across Maharashtra. Hence, people have expressed their approval for our leadership through this survey,” said the Chief Minister.
Shinde faction Minister Shambhuraj Desai said that the survey concerned the ‘Mahayuti’ (Shinde-led Sena, the BJP and allied parties) as a whole and stressed there were “no differences” between the ruling parties over this survey.
“Who is trying to create these divisions between us? It is the jealous opposition. This survey is not a war over taking credit for something…it only proves that more than 46% of the Maharashtra’s public wish to see our government return to power in the next election,” Mr. Desai said.
Seeking to downplay any potential schism, BJP State chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said: “We [Shinde Sena and BJP] are working as brothers… It is not right to interpret this [survey] as Mr. Shinde has gone forward and Mr. Fadnavis has fallen behind.”
Terming the survey “absurd”, senior Congressman Anant Gadgil, who is the party’s National Panel Spokesperson, said that if the survey showed that 46% of the electorate approved the BJP-Shinde Sena, then by their own admission 54% of Maharashtra’s populace had rejected the current government.
“The Shinde camp is trying to get an upper hand over the BJP by claiming that 26% of those surveyed preferred Mr. Shinde while 23% wanted to see Fadnavis as CM. This means that a resounding 77% people do not want our current CM to return again. This has to be the most bizarre survey indeed,” said Mr. Gadgil, speaking to The Hindu.
Mr. Gadgil quipped whether the survey conducted by the Shinde camp included the opinions of such ‘common citizens’ like BJP leader Pankaja Munde, BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde and former BJP leader Eknath Khadse (now with the NCP) – all political rivals of Mr. Fadnavis.
Former Maharashtra Home Minister and senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh said the survey was “laughable” as it was conducted by the government’s own agency with the aim of showing it in the best possible light.
Meanwhile, BJP Minister Chandrakant Patil accompanied Mr. Shinde to Kolhapur in lieu of Mr. Fadnavis. Mr. Kesarkar said Mr. Fadnavis reportedly had a problem with his ear getting blocked owing to flight journeys and hence doctors had prohibited him from travelling in airplanes for some time.
