Alliance Agonies

For an alliance that claims ideological unity, the Mahayuti has an uncanny knack for public discord. The main parties of the ruling alliance – the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena both swear by the same Hindutva creed, often speak the same political language and share the same adversaries. Yet, at times, the coalition behaves less like a cohesive front and more like two rival franchises competing on the same turf. The latest flare-up over political poaching revealed how shared ideology offers no protection against clashes of ambition.

The latest schism came after a cabinet meeting was attended solely by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde sans ministerial colleagues. Lame explanations of absence were given by the Sena ministers.

The real cause of this discontent was the BJP’s recruitment of Sena workers and leaders in the run-up to municipal elections. The Sena leaders’ grievances were sharpest in Thane - Shinde’s home ground - where the BJP has been inducting former Sena corporators and activists, thereby weakening Shinde’s organisational base.

CM Devendra Fadnavis countered that it was the Sena that fired the first shot by poaching a former BJP legislator in Ulhasnagar. The BJP’s response, he implied, was merely tit-for-tat. After some pointed exchanges, the two leaders instructed their cadres to halt recruitment from alliance partners. Maharashtra’s political history is replete with such temporary truces which later dissolve under the weight of competitive instincts.

Municipal corporations and zilla parishads are Maharashtra’s engines of patronage and grassroots mobilisation. Their control determines political longevity. In this ecosystem, defections are existential threats. A corporator switching allegiance in Thane or a local leader migrating in Nashik can alter the balance of influence for years. Hence, the Sena bristles at each BJP induction in Thane, Nashik, Jalgaon or Satara and why the BJP sees in these districts opportunities to accelerate its long-term consolidation.

The tensions also reveal a deeper asymmetry. The BJP, buoyed by national dominance, increasingly treats the Shinde-led Sena as a junior partner whose utility is transactional. The Sena, acutely aware of this, fears becoming a hollowed-out appendage. The rivalry is most pronounced in regions where the two share historical strength. If the Mahayuti, despite being buoyed by a stunning and emphatic Assembly poll win last year, cannot maintain discipline during local elections, it risks eroding its image as a stable governing coalition.

The alliance needs clearer internal rules and transparent coordination on local elections and mechanisms for resolving disputes without resorting to public signalling.

For now, arithmetic keeps the Mahayuti intact. But arithmetic alone cannot reconcile competing ambitions. In Maharashtra’s high-stakes political marketplace, the test for the BJP and Shinde’s Sena is whether they can prevent their shared platform from becoming collateral damage in their battle for influence.