Maharashtra | Why MVA partners differ on projecting CM face ahead of elections

Riding high on the success of Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Congress, NCP-SP and Shiv Sena (UBT) seems to have been hit by differences when it comes to projecting their chief ministerial face for the upcoming state assembly elections.

It all started with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray declaring during a recent MVA meeting that his party will unconditionally support any candidate announced by the Congress or Sharad Pawar's NCP-SP while making it clear that his priority has always been throwing the ‘traitors’ out of power, apparently hinting at Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who caused a split in the Sena.

CM face before polls

The former Maharashtra chief minister opined that the selection of the chief ministerial face should not be based solely on the number of seats won by each party. He instead proposed that senior MVA leaders should jointly announce a candidate, whom he would then support unconditionally.

“There have been speculations about the CM face of MVA. I appeal to all leaders of the alliance, whether it’s Prithviraj Chavan or Sharad Pawar, to announce their choice for CM, and I will support them unconditionally,” Thackeray said. He urged the MVA partners to announce the chief ministerial candidate before kicking off the election campaign.

However, his remarks haven’t gone down well with the other alliance partners who felt that the focus should rather be on returning to power in the state and the issue of the CM face may be addressed later.

Congress rejects move

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said the MVA should put up a united front in the assembly elections while making it clear that such decisions rest with the party high command. Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan backed this viewpoint, stating that the priority should be to return to power. He felt that the chief ministerial face of the MVA can be decided later.

Chavan said there has been no such tradition in Maharashtra of declaring a chief ministerial candidate by the Opposition parties ahead of assembly polls. ”Opposition parties in the past have never declared a CM candidate during assembly elections. And this time, it will be no different. Even the ruling party does not have a CM candidate. If the CM himself heads the campaign, it is a different matter,” he said.

‘Focus on regime change’

NCP-SP president Sharad Pawar also stated that no one from his party was interested in getting projected for the top post and instead they were focused on effecting a change of government in the poll-bound state.

He also clarified that he won't be the CM face at least and that said his priority remains the change of government in the state. “We just want change in the government here, as we want to give good governance to the state. So, who will or will not be the CM is not a question for me. It will not be me at least,” he said.

The veteran leader said, “We want to give a better administration to the people of the state by remaining on same page (with other MVA allies).” He felt that the MVA should rather focus on finalising seat-sharing arrangement at the earliest. “My expectation from them is to take a decision on seats as early as possible and provide a clear picture to the people of the state,” he said.

In the 2019 elections, Congress contested 147 seats, winning 43, while the undivided NCP won 54 out of 121 seats. The Congress and the undivided NCP were the allies in 2019. Uddhav Thackeray, allied with the BJP at the time, contested 124 seats and secured 56, while the BJP won 105 out of 164 seats.

Sena (UBT) pitching for Uddhav

There are reports that the Shiv Sena (UBT) has already conveyed to the Congress and the NCP-SP its pitch for Uddhav Thackeray as the MVA’s CM candidate.

However, it has sparked resentment in the Congress with some pointing out that the party performed better than other MVA allies in the Lok Sabha polls, netting 13 of the 17 seats contested, compared to 9 out of 21 of Sena (UBT) and 8 out of 10 of NCP-SP.

Political observers feel that Thackeray is implicitly projecting himself as the natural choice for the MVA’s CM face as he was not only toppled as the chief minister but attempts were also made to “steal” his whole party, which is unprecedented.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, however, refuted claims of pressure politics behind Thackeray’s move to push for declaration of the MVA’s CM face. “What is wrong with Uddhav Thackeray's demand? Thackeray is a former chief minister. His face is acceptable to everyone. He didn't speak about himself. If anyone has the courage, they should declare their CM face,” Raut said while defending his party chief.

Though it is evident that the Sena (UBT) would like MVA to declare Thackeray as their CM face, the other two alliance partners are not too keen on the idea as they feel that not projecting a leader could help the Opposition bloc do its best in the assembly elections.