Uddhav Thackeray meets allies as rumours of rift in alliance spread

Following the widespread speculation of a rift between the six-month-old Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Congress coalition, a meeting of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) took place at the Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s Varsha bungalow with senior leaders of alliance partners in attendance.

Congress leaders Bala Saheb Thorat, Varsha Gaikwad, Aslam Shaikh and NCP’s Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil also attended the meet.

Subhash Desai and Eknath Shinde were also present representing Shiv Sena.

However, members of the meeting said that they were there to discuss the coronavirus situation of the state and not to make any political statement.

On the political crisis rumours, Maharashtra Speaker and Congress leader Nana Patole said, “Whatever is being said in the media over Maharashtra political situation, there is no such situation in the state.”

“At this time, we are only working towards fighting COVID-19. We are following all guidelines of Government of India,” he added.

Signalling that all’s well, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut also tweeted, “The government is strong. No worries. Jai Maharashtra!!”

While the party members categorically denied any friction in the alliance, the comments by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi yesterday where he distanced his party from the Uddhav government saying Congress is not a decision-maker in Maharashtra suggested otherwise.

Related news: Amid COVID-19, political sweepstakes turn intense in Maharashtra

Reacting to Gandhi’s statement, Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, an NCP MP, then tried to salvage the situation and said, “He is absolutely right. It is an alliance. That shows the humility, honesty, and dedication of the man. I am grateful to him for being honest and being a great team player. I compliment him.”

Alleging that the Devendra Fadnavis and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are trying to bring down the government, Sharad Pawar earlier in the day said, “there is no threat to the Maharashtra government. All MLAs are with us, any attempt to break them at this time will result in the public beating us,” reported NDTV.

Similarly, accusing BJP of spreading the rumour that President’s rule will be imposed in Maharashtra, state Congress chief and Revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat asserted that the government is “strong” and all the three parties are “united.”

“Every week Congress is having a meeting with the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). We all are united and are working together for development. There is no reason for imposing presidential rule in the state. Our government is strong. Because BJP leaders are meeting the Governor does not mean that presidential rule will come into force. BJP is power-hungry,” he said while speaking to media.

Notably, the meeting is held just a day after former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a press conference and stated that MVA government in the state will fall due to its own burden and BJP is not interested at all in changing the government.

“No one is trying to weaken the state government, it will fall due to its own burden. We are not trying to topple the Government,” Fadnavis had said.

Related news: Pawar blames ‘impatient’ Fadnavis on alliance ‘rift’; Rahul doesn’t help

Maharashtra has the coronavirus situation spiralling out of control with as many as 54,758 positive cases and Mumbai having the maximum cases.