Sir,
BJP and Shiv Sena have a history of difficult relationship. Despite being partners for the major part of three decades, the relationship between the two parties has been under almost constant strain-this is because the ideological affinities that brings them together also pits them against each other in a contest for broadly the same political space.
Days after the BJP and Shiv Sena together won 161 seats in 288-member Maharashtra assembly, the pre-poll allies have not been able to form the government as the Sena made demands that the BJP has found difficult to accommodate.
As the Lok Sabha elections of 2019 approached, both the parties felt a need to get back together. In February, Fadnavis announced there be equal share of “post and responsibilities” in the state government among other things. The results, however, underlined the enduring strength of Modi’s appeal – and the Sena accepted a smaller share of seats in the Assembly polls while the BJP drop hints about eying a majority on its own.
But the Assembly results were very different. The BJP’s tally fell to 105 from 122 it won in 2014, and Sena, despite coming down from 63 to 56 itself, was suddenly back in a position to call shots. With the BJP now dependent on Sena, Uddhav said on the day results were announced that he wanted a 50:50 power sharing formula – including the CM post, as had been decided before the Lok Sabha elections.
As the situation stands today the BJP is firm in not conceding CM’s post to Sena. The result is that the alliance has been pushed to a point of breakdown and there are reports and Maharashtra may come under the President’s rule.
Harihar Swarup
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