At Sambhajinagar, MVA attempts to project united face under Uddhav’s leadership; questions BJP’s double standards over Hindutva, Savarkar issue

Led by former Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, the Opposition MVA2, in its joint rally in Sambhajinagar, launched counteroffensive against PM Modi and CM Eknath Shinde

Attempting to project a united front under former Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), in its joint rally in Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) on Sunday launched a broadside against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Eknath Shinde government in the State.

While gingerly skirting over thorny alliance issues like Mr. Thackeray’s recent criticism of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the latter’s remarks against Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar and the renaming of Sambhajinagar to Aurangabad, Mr. Thackeray and the MVA leadership including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s Ajit Pawar and Congressman Ashok Chavan instead attacked the BJP and PM Modi for their ‘double standards’ and targeting of Opposition leaders throughout the country.

This was the first in a projected series of joint MVA rallies to take place in the State with an eye on the civic and general and Assembly elections.

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Nana Patole was absent from the rally, with sources saying he was reportedly unwell.

Mr. Thackeray, who led the MVA charge, attacked the BJP and Shinde faction over the meaning of ‘Hindutva’, the Savarkar issue and the BJP’s discrimination against the Muslim community.  

“For 25 years, we were under an illusion during our alliance with the BJP. Twice our coalition government [Sena-BJP] had come to power, but Aurangabad could not be renamed as Sambhajinagar. What BJP could not do, our MVA had done it,” said Mr. Thackeray, alluding to one of his last cabinet decisions when the MVA had passed the decision to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad (to Dharashiv).

There had been frictions between Mr. Thackeray and his Congress allies over the renaming issue when he was CM. However, all MVA leaders were careful in Sunday’s rally to refer to erstwhile ‘Aurangabad’ as ‘Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’ (after the Maratha king who was murdered by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb).