The assembly elections in Maharashtra 2024 are just few months away but the battle lines have been drawn clearly and political temperatures have risen . It is the ruling Mahayuti alliance headed By Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena along with BJ and Ajit Pawar’s NCP versus the MVA which includes Sharad Pawar’s NCP(SP), Uddhav Thackeray Shive Sena (UBT) and Congress.
During the Lok Sabha 2024 campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dubbed the NC(SP) led by Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray as fake parties . And suggested they merge with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar factions respectively. Modi set the tone for aggressive political discourse as he took on former four- time CM Sharad Pawar and in a jibe called him a “bhatakti aatma” (wandering soul).
PM Modi also hit out at Uddhav Thackeray calling him a him a ‘nakli santaan’ (fake child). A furious Uddhav had this reply. ”The Prime Minister has said that I am Balasaheb’s ‘nakli santan.” This is an insult to my parents who are like Gods to me..You should fight with me, but if you insult my parents, then I will not tolerate it. Whoever you are, I will not leave you, I will show you your place,” Uddhav said .
Giving it back to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP during the on going Budget session of parliament NCP(SP) MP Amol Kohle said one does not need to shout we are original. The people of Maharashtra have given their verdict and said who is original and who is not. MVA had won an impressive 30 off the 48 Lok Sabha seats ( Congress 13, NCP(SP) 8 and Shiv Sena ( UBT) 9 .
Union Home Minister , Amit Shah soon followed , Shah dubbed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) as the Aurangzeb fan club and said Thackeray was its leader. He had also claimed that Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar was the “godfather of corruption who institutionalised graft in India”.
Shah’s attack did not go without a blistering reply. Former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray hit back hard at Amit Shah . It was unlike Uddhav, a new aggressive tone in reply. For long BJP had played the mind games and used the jibes to full publicity courtesy Godi media’s support, Now opposition too have begun to hit back in their own language.
“Amit Shah is the political descendant of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Even he was a Shah. That was Ahmad Shah and he is Amit Shah. Will he give us the teachings of Hindutva? You ate the birthday cake of Nawaz Sharif and we should learn Hindutva from you?” Thackeray said.
Pawar too demolished Shah’s corruption jibe by reminding him how he was barred from entering his own state by the Supreme Court. “The one who was banished is the home minister today. So, we should think about where we are headed. The way the people in whose hands this country is, are taking the wrong path, we should think about it; or else, I am 100% confident that they will take the country on the wrong path. We must pay attention to this, ”Pawar said in his hard hitting reply.
So the jibes and counter jibes will continue till the elections are over . MVA would be keen to carry on the winning momentum of the Lok Sabha results 2024. Where was the ruling alliance headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde along with BJP and Ajit Pawar’s NCP have their task cut-out with each demanding its numbers to contest. The tricky Maratha reservation has kept the government on the toes.
Further adding to the Mahayuti woes, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-linked weekly magazine few days back blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s alliance with the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. Ratan Sharda, a lifelong RSS worker, said in his article allying with NCP leader Ajit Pawar reduced the ‘brand value of BJP’ and also made it ‘just another party without any difference’. So watch this space and the Maha drama unfold.
