MVA readies to grapple govt

Mumbai: Blessed with a road-roller majority the Maha Yuti regime of Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress is warily readying to face a much truncated but meaner Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi of Congress-Shiv Sena (UBT)-Nationalist Congress Party (SP) at the Maharashtra Legislature’s Budget Session 2025, starting March 3.

This will be the Maha Yuti government’s first full-fledged budget session after the November 20 (2024) Assembly elections, as the intervening Winter Session lasted barely a week owing to various reasons, and the government is due to complete its political milestone 100 days in office.

Despite commanding 230 of the total 288 seats, including the BJP’s 132, against the combined Opposition’s around 58, there are frowns of worry on the brows of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

Though Fadnavis is in a commanding position as the Mahayuti has 230 seats in the 288-member assembly, with the BJP alone winning 132 seats in the November state polls, even the Opposition appears a lot springy unmindful of its limited strength.

For starters, both the Maha Yuti and MVA are grappling with intra-alliance tugs-of-war, with a lot at stake, more so for the ruling side, as the government is scheduled to present the State Budget 2025-2026 on March 10.

Fadnavis faces a daunting task of reining in both Shinde-Ajit Pawar yet well-disposed, amid murmurs of a three-cornered Cold War boiling within the Maha Yuti.

Though Ajit Pawar has adopted a prudent approach, the seemingly truant Shinde slipped the cat out of the bag with his recent loose barb - “don’t take me lightly”.

It was the BJP which was all ears and took it seriously, though Shinde purportedly targeted the SS (UBT) President and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray.

Fadnavis has apparently rubbed ally Shiv Sena the wrong way by ordering a probe into a Rs 900-crore housing in Jalna, and scrapping a Rs 1,400-crore solid waste collection tender, both during the erstwhile regime headed by Shinde.

Both Shinde-Ajit Pawar have abstained from certain meetings or programs attended by Fadnavis, which amply fuelled the Opposition’s claims that ‘all is not well’ in the Maha Yuti.

Fadnavis needled them further by dropping names of around 16 out of 125 Ministerial aides like PS/OSDs, etc., alleging some aspirants were more of ‘fixers’.

A MVA leader said that the move was ‘regressive’ as now all Ministers would feel restricted as they may be under Fadnavis’ “perpetual watch” through such handpicked officials.

Another cause of the sparks among the three scowling allies is the upcoming civic bodies elections with the likelihood of another political confrontation.

Gleefully sharpening the swords, the MVA will exploit these and other issues like the resignation demands for two Ministers – Dhananjay Munde and Manikrao Kokate – both from the NCP but under a cloud for different reasons.