Maharashtra, Bihar, Assam, Goa: How BJP cut bigger allies to size
India Today
The political crisis in Maharashtra is far from over. With many Sena MLAs reposing faith in rebel Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena is looking at an uncertain future. Read on to know more about the political crisis.
The political crisis in Maharashtra is pushing the dominant party of the state, Shiv Sena, to the brink of division with many Sena MLAs reposing faith in rebel Eknath Shinde defying the might of their chief, Uddhav Thackeray. On Wednesday, hours after announcing that he was prepared to resign, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray moved to his family home, Matoshree, leaving the ‘Varsha’ bungalow, which served as the CM’s official residence.
To overthrow the Uddhav administration and avoid the anti-defection regulation, Eknath Shinde needs 37 Shiv Sena MLAs, but he isn't giving up. He keeps bringing Shiv Sena MLAs into the rebel camp. Eknath Shinde has claimed that 48 MLAs are with him out of which 42 belong to the Shiv Sena. If his claims are true, no one can do anything to stop the division of the party, which may be far bigger than the earlier ones. This is the largest internal uprising within the party, which has earlier seen blows by people, such as Chhagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane, and Raj Thackeray.
Also read: Attend meeting or else...: Shiv Sena warns MLAs ahead of party meet in Mumbai
Shiv Sena alleged that Eknath Shinde's uprising was "masterminded" by the BJP. The BJP claims that it is unrelated to the ongoing political unrest in Maharashtra. But we all know that the two BJP ruling states, Gujarat and Assam, were chosen to host the rebel Sena MLAs.
On Monday night, Shinde accompanied a group of rebellious MLAs from Mumbai to Surat in Gujarat. Later, on Wednesday morning, they were flown to Guwahati in Assam. There have been strong speculations that Shinde and other MLAs may join the BJP in an effort to overthrow the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. There are reports suggesting that the BJP has executed ‘Operation Lotus’ to bring down the MVA government.
Whether Uddhav Thackeray can keep his Shiv Sena intact is the million-dollar question. After the 2019 Maharashtra elections, the Shiv Sena broke with the BJP, and together with the NCP and the Congress, they formed the MVA government in the state. The Shiv Sena at that time cheated their pre-poll partner BJP, who were allies in Maharashtra since 1989. Now questions are being asked whether BJP is taking revenge for 2019 by assisting the splitting of the Shiv Sena.
Shiv Sena is not the only party that is facing the might of the BJP. There are instances that show that BJP tries to subdue their alliance partner. They manipulated the partnership to the saffron party's benefit. One of the biggest examples in recent times is that of CM Nitish Kumar's party, JD(U), which has been overtaken by the BJP in Bihar. Here is a list of some BJP allies in the past or present that were cut to size or forced for their survival.
