Mumbai: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – comprising former ideological rivals Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress – is battling internal insurgency in two assembly constituencies ahead of the Maharashtra bypolls. On 27 February.
Chinchwad and Kasba Peth latest developments The opposition alliance is likely to face several issues in contesting the next year’s assembly polls together.
In Chinchwad, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Rahul Kalate is contesting as an independent, challenging NCP’s Vitthal Kate, the official candidate of the MVA.
Similarly, the internal politics of the Congress poses a challenge to the MVA in Kasba Peth, Congress’s Balasaheb Dabhekar has filed his nomination as an independent against the party’s and MVA’s official candidate Ravindra Dhangekar.
Rival BJP is also suffering the challenges The family of Kasba Peth MLA Mukta Tilak, whose death necessitated the bypoll, is facing the allegation of going against Brahmins by ignoring them for the party’s official candidate. The Tilak family belongs to the Brahmin community.
Political observers say the bypolls are an indication of how parties are likely to have a tough time sharing seats for the 2024 assembly polls, and how there are likely to be a number of seats where they will contest between Kasba Peth and Kasba Peth. We can see internal rebellion like Chinchwad.
“It will be very difficult for parties like Congress and Shiv Sena to reach an understanding, and while NCP and Shiv Sena have good leadership equations, there are many seats where both the parties have always been rivals at the local level. ,” said Hemant Desai, former journalist and political commentator.
“The fate of the MVA depends on how effectively the leaderships of the parties are able to crush these local insurgencies. BJP will take advantage of this.
The MVA was formed in November 2019 after the assembly elections that year. While NCP hashe congress fOr since its formation in 1999, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has always been seen as an ideological and political rival of the two parties.
When the MVA was formed, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had 56 seats, the NCP 54 and the Congress 44. In June 2022, Eknath Shinde, now the Chief Minister, caused a vertical split in the Shiv Sena, attracting 40 seats to the party. His faction has 56 MLAs.
Chinchwad bypoll rebellion
Last month, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut Said That his party wanted to contest the Chinchwad bypoll, which was necessitated by the death of BJP MLA Laxman Jagtap, was conveyed by Uddhav Thackeray to NCP leaders as well. However, the party eventually decided to back NCP’s Kate as the official candidate for the MVA.
Shiv Sena’s (UBT) Kalate, who will contest the MVA candidate as an independent, told ThePrint, “I had informed the party leadership that I wanted to contest the bypoll, but the party still decided to support the BJP. Have done. “They (MVA) can do everything to persuade me to withdraw my nomination, but I will not budge.”
According to the Election Commission (EC), Kalate, the official candidate of the Shiv Sena in 2014, emerged as the runner-up with 63,489 votes. Kalate also contested as a rebel candidate in 2019 when Chinchwad was taken by the BJP during its alliance with the Shiv Sena. Election Commission data shows that Kalate was again second only to BJP’s Jagtap with 1,12,225 votes, polling nearly 40 per cent of the total votes in the constituency.
NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase told ThePrint, “This is an NCP-dominated constituency. So is the Municipal Corporation. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has historically had no standing, although it has grown of late. But it is still not enough for Shiv Sena to overcome NCP’s strength here.
He said, ‘Shiv Sena’s leadership has accepted it. The lower level leaders may or may not agree with the party leadership. Everyone has aspirations.
BJP has fielded Ashwini Jagtap, widow of Laxman Jagtap.
was similar to MVA issues In the Kolhapur North bypoll last year, when local Shiv Sena leaders led by Rajesh Kshirsagar expressed their willingness to contest, the Congress wanted to field its candidate as the official face of the group.
The seat was a Shiv Sena stronghold, but the Congress won it in the 2019 civic polls. The MVA, however, was able to prevent an official revolt and get all parties to back the Congress candidate, thereby suffering a crushing defeat. defeat To BJP. kshirsagar last year got included in Shinde camp of Shiv Sena
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Kasba Peth and internal politics of Congress
In Kasba Peth, Congress’s Balasaheb Dabhekar has filed his nomination as an independent candidate challenging the party’s official candidate Ravindra Dhangekar.
“I had asked the party to nominate me as the candidate. I have been a party worker for 40 years and still the party supported someone who left the parties. All this is happening due to factionalism within the Congress.
dhangekar did before this Has been with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) as well as the undivided Shiv Sena, and has been a five-time corporator in the Pune Municipal Corporation from both parties. He had joined Congress in 2017.
A senior Congress leader said the party’s decision to elect Dhanagekar, who is known to frequently switch political loyalties, has caused much dismay in the Pune unit.
However, senior party spokesperson Anant Gadgil said, “The political climate is in favor of the Congress.” In Kasba Peth, the BJP is beset by its own problems. We will definitely win.”
(Editing by Anumeha Saxena)
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