MVA’s smaller allies miffed at being snubbed at swearing-in ceremony

Pune: As none of the smaller constituents of the ‘Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi’ (MVA) government was given even a single cabinet berth in the new State cabinet, the leaders of these parties including Raju Shetti of the Swabhimani Shetkari Paksha (SSP), Jayant Patil of the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) and Abu Azmi of the Samajwadi Party are miffed at not being formally invited at the swearing-in ceremony of the new ministers.

It may be recalled that Shetti had quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He then aligned himself with the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for the Lok Sabha and the Assembly polls. Expressing his disappointment at the slight, Shetti further remarked that there seemed little to distinguish from the ‘arrogant attitude’ of the erstwhile BJP government and the newly formed MVA coalition of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress.

Speaking from home town Kolhapur, Shetti remarked “while a band has great importance prior to a wedding ceremony, the band members are usually found sitting in a corner after the conclusion of the ceremony. Perhaps something of that sort has happened with us allies. Prior to the elections, we were in great demand, but no one (from the MVA) asked for us once the government was formed”.

Shetti who did not attend the swearing-in ceremony, said that none of the smaller constituents of the Congress-NCP, be it his party, Patil’s PWP outfit or Hitendra Thakur’s Bahujan Vikas Agahdi (BVA), had received a proper invite before the function. “It is common decency to send invites to one’s allies. But it appears that our contribution in helping keep the BJP out of power is not to be recognized,” said the farmers’ leader, a former two-time MP from Hatkanangale in Kolhapur.

“While this slight does not mean that we plan to withdraw support from the MVA, it does reflect poorly on this new government. It certainly does not help distinguish them from the erstwhile BJP government,” Shetti said. He further observed that none of the smaller allies were taken into confidence during the month-long discussions which preceded the cabinet expansion.

The SSP leader further added, “we had been repeatedly urging them (Sena, NCP and Congress) to take us into confidence while drawing up the Common Minimum Programme (CMP). However, no one paid us any heed,” he said. In the Assembly poll results, Shetti’s party had won one seat, while Thakur’s outfit had returned three MLAs, Azmi’s Samajwadi Party won two seats and the PWP bagged one seat.

After the formation of the MVA government, there were speculations that Shetti would get the key Agriculture ministry portfolio. Shetti wondered whether his opposition to the loan waiver declared by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his party’s independent stance on farmers’ issues was the reason for the snub over the invite.

“The waiver declared by the Uddhav Thackeray government does not factor in the losses endured by farmers in the Sangli-Kolhapur deluge and the unseasonal showers this year,” said Shetti. In a similar vein, Peoples Republican Party (PRP) leader and MLC, Jogendra Kawade said it was unfortunate that allies were being snubbed in this way.

“We have only received gate passes for the event. At least the government ought to have given us a proper invitation. However, having fought against the BJP-RSS, we are happy that a progressive government has come to power. Accordingly, I will be going for the swearing-in ceremony,” Kawade said. He further said that he hoped Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the top leadership of the Congress and the NCP will take note of the aspirations of smaller parties in the future cabinet expansion.