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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 4:59:11 pm

Fadnavis reins in Sena’s Marathi push

AI generated image Mumbai: The ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra is witnessing a delicate political balancing act, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis increasingly overriding key decisions of alliance partners, particularly the Shiv Sena, while simultaneously attempting to placate them on other fronts. The tension within the alliance came to the fore on Thursday when Fadnavis stepped in to dilute a controversial mandate enforced by Shiv Sena Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, which...

Fadnavis reins in Sena’s Marathi push

AI generated image Mumbai: The ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra is witnessing a delicate political balancing act, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis increasingly overriding key decisions of alliance partners, particularly the Shiv Sena, while simultaneously attempting to placate them on other fronts. The tension within the alliance came to the fore on Thursday when Fadnavis stepped in to dilute a controversial mandate enforced by Shiv Sena Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, which required auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers in Mumbai to possess basic Marathi language proficiency. The Transport Department’s enforcement drive, which threatened non-Marathi-speaking drivers with suspension or cancellation of their licences, sparked outrage among North Indian drivers who form a sizeable section of the public transport workforce in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Protests brought parts of Mumbai, including Kandivali and Malad, to a standstill. Recognising the potential electoral fallout, Fadnavis intervened, saying drivers need not be “experts” in Marathi. He also extended the grace period for drivers to acquire a working knowledge of the language to one year, effectively diluting Sarnaik’s hardline stance. Fadnavis announced the decision after a delegation of transport operators met him. The episode highlights the conflicting political compulsions of the Mahayuti partners. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is keen to pursue a pro-Marathi, “sons of the soil” agenda to consolidate its traditional voter base and counter the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) faction led by Uddhav Thackeray. The BJP, however, relies heavily on North Indian and migrant voters in the MMR, particularly as crucial civic and state elections approach. Any aggressive regional policy that alienates this constituency could have electoral consequences for the party. The Marathi language issue is not an isolated instance of Fadnavis stepping in to override decisions associated with the Shiv Sena. It fits into a broader pattern of the chief minister’s administration reviewing or reversing several initiatives of the previous government headed by Shinde. In April 2026, the BJP-led Environment Department, headed by Minister Pankaja Munde, scrapped 14 lake conservation projects, 11 of which had been cleared during Shinde’s tenure, and ordered recovery of more than Rs 73 crore. The Fadnavis government has also modified several initiatives introduced by the previous regime. In January 2025, it altered Shinde’s three-course school meal plan, placing the responsibility on local school management committees to raise funds for sweet dishes. In April 2025, the government scrapped the ‘One State, One Uniform’ policy for schools. A Rs 3,200-crore tender for mechanised housekeeping services at government hospitals, issued under the Shinde government, was also stayed. Yet, Fadnavis remains conscious of the need to preserve the fragile alliance. To manage growing resentment within the Sena, he has adopted what can be described as a ‘blow hot, blow cold’ approach — overriding decisions when they clash with the BJP’s broader political interests while offering political concessions on other fronts. One such move was the recent appointment of Shiv Sena leader Bharat Gogawale as Guardian Minister of the politically important Raigad district, ending a 19-month-long tussle over the post. At the same time, the Mahayuti government recently reduced the powers exercised by Guardian Ministers over District Planning Committee (DPC) funds, directing that 70 per cent of the funds be allocated directly to local MLAs. The move is aimed at reducing the concentration of financial powers with individual ministers. As the Mahayuti navigates these competing interests, Fadnavis has also instructed alliance partners to resolve disputes internally and avoid public sparring. However, the latest confrontation over the Marathi language requirement underscores the limits of that arrangement. While Fadnavis continues to use his authority to protect the BJP’s broader electoral interests, the Shiv Sena remains under pressure to assert its regional identity and distinguish itself from the Thackeray faction. With elections approaching, balancing these competing political priorities is likely to remain one of the biggest challenges for the Mahayuti government.

BJP’s zilla parishad surge leaves Shinde Sena sidelined

Mumbai: The political friction within Maharashtra’s ruling alliance has moved from hushed corridors to a public power struggle following Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s recent high-profile dash to the national capital. While Shinde spent his Delhi visit in closed-door deliberations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah—purportedly to protest being marginalised in regional power-sharing—the state BJP responded on Wednesday with a series of aggressive manoeuvres.


Instead of a reconciliation, Shinde got a reality check in which his Shiv Sena was systematically outmanoeuvred and isolated across key zilla parishads (ZPs) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, and Sangli.


This latest sequence of events underscores a rapidly changing dynamic in Maharashtra politics. Ever since Devendra Fadnavis assumed the Chief Minister’s office in December 2024, the BJP has adopted an increasingly assertive posture. Shinde and his camp are visibly struggling to counter this dominance.


The political manoeuvring in Parbhani perfectly illustrates the BJP’s new strategy. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 24 seats. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured 15 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena with five. The opposition consisted of Shiv Sena (UBT) (six seats), Congress (three seats), and one independent candidate.


Guardian Minister Meghana Borikar had initially indicated a plan to seize power alongside Shinde’s Shiv Sena while keeping the NCP out.


Silent Moves

However, the Congress silently attempted to engineer a broad anti-BJP coalition, trying to unite the NCP, both Sena factions, and the independent member.


Sensing the threat, the BJP went into a huddle with NCP leadership for a counter-strategy. Clear directives were sent to the district level. The BJP abruptly formed an alliance with the NCP. Consequently, the Shiv Sena, which had been aggressively eyeing the ZP chairperson’s post, was unceremoniously shown the door.


Tight Race

A similar drama unfolded in Sambhajinagar. The alliance broke down at the very last moment. Local leaders failed to reach a consensus about the chairperson post.


Numbers were extremely tight. The BJP held 23 members, while the Shiv Sena commanded 22. When state-level power-sharing formulas were rejected locally, the BJP took drastic action.


Leveraging assistance from the NCP, the BJP successfully engineered a split within the opposition alliance. It managed to win over the crucial votes of three UBT members and one NCP-Sharad Pawar member. On Wednesday, both the BJP and the Shiv Sena filed rival nominations for the top post. Ultimately, the BJP’s tactical cross-voting strategy prevailed. The party walked away with both the chairperson and deputy chairperson positions, leaving the Sena empty-handed.


The situation in Sangli further damaged the fragile relationship between the two ruling partners. In Sangli, the NCP-SP successfully bagged the chairperson post. The Shiv Sena accused the BJP of sabotage. It was claimed that the BJP deliberately refused to back the Sena candidate and decided to field its own candidate at the eleventh hour.


The last-minute entry split the votes of the ruling alliance and turned the regional equations decisively in favour of the NCP-SP.


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