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Pune: In a clear attempt at browbeating Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance partners Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress ahead of crucial 2022 civic body polls, Shiv Sena MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut hinted at the Sena might go solo unless a “respectable seat sharing arrangement” was not hammered out.
The senior Sena leader was addressing a Sena workers’ meet in Pimpri-Chinchwad as part of preparations for the civic body poll expected to be held in February next year, arguing that the Sena was used to fighting alone.
“Now, people will be thinking whether we will have an alliance (before the polls) …. there will be the inevitable bargaining and bickering before seat-sharing. Why get into all that? We (Sena) are used to fighting alone and must be prepared to fight on all seats. If there is an alliance (Congress-NCP) then fine, else we will go it alone…we will not compromise on our self-respect,” remarked Raut.
Addressing the grievances of Sena workers in Pimpri-Chinchwad, sarcastically ‘warned’ Deputy Chief Minister and Pune Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar to pay heed to their needs as Chief Minister Thackeray had visited Delhi today, mischievously hinting at the possibility of the Sena moving towards the BJP.
Raut further remarked, “Pune’s Guardian Minister is not from the Sena. Some complain that he (Pawar) does not listen to Sena workers in Pimpri-Chinchwad despite the Sena holding the Chief Minister’s post…This is not done. Ajit Pawar too listens to CM Thackeray. We must tell him that it will be better if he starts paying attention to the grievances of Sena workers given that the Chief Minister has gone to Delhi.”
However, the Sena MP immediately prefixed his wry comments by urging the press not to misinterpret his statements. stating that Thackeray had gone to “size up Delhi” with the objective of making the Sena a national party.
“Tomorrow, we (Sena) must expand our footprint to Delhi. Hence, the Chief Minister’s visit today to see where the South Block is, where the Prime Minister sits, where is the Home Minister’s office…gradually, we have to get there,” said Raut, in a bid to enthuse party workers.
Raut’s ‘show of strength’ remarks are the latest in a series of similar statements made by top MVA leadership (including Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray) reflecting both the unease within the ideologically opposed Sena-NCP-Congress alliance as well as the individual party building drive ahead of the polls.
Earlier this month, Thackeray had raised political eyebrows after he referred to senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Raosaheb Danve as a probable “future colleague” during a public function at Aurangabad, triggering frenzied speculation of the Sena and the BJP once again coming closer in the near future.
Prior to that, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Chief (MPCC) Nana Patole’s refrain of the Congress contesting alone in future polls gave headaches not only to other MVA allies, but also within the State Congress as well.
Raut also urged workers to acknowledge the fact that the Sena was routed in the 2017 civic polls owing to weaknesses within the party’s organization in Pune and exhorted them to introspect as to why the party’s outreach is so poor in the district.
“Despite (late Sena chief) Balasaheb Thackeray being born in Pune and having a strong connect with the city and the district, it is regrettable that the Sena’s saffron flag has not fluttered over the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic bodies… The next Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation results must be such that whatever be the seat tally of the other parties, the Mayor must be from the Shiv Sena. I’m not saying we should win 100 seats, but I expect 40-45 seats at least,” the Sena spokesperson added.
Raut further said there was nothing wrong with the Sena’s expectations that the future Mayors of both the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the PCMC must be from his party, given that the Sena managed to secure the Chief Ministers post despite winning only 55 Assembly seats.
In 2017, the BJP had emerged triumphant for the first time in the cash-rich Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic bodies, breaking the stranglehold of the NCP in these two municipal corporations and securing absolute majorities.
The BJP swept the PMC, winning a record 100 of 162 seats while it wrested PCMC – considered Ajit Pawar’s bastion – from the NCP by winning 77 of the 128 seats. In contrast, the Sena had managed to secure barely 10 seats in the PMC and nine in the PCMC.
