When the Shiv Sena took its 63 legislators and decided to sit on the opposition benches in the Maharashtra legislature, it created an interesting political situation – for the first time, the government (led by the Bharatiya Janata Party) and the main opposition party were virtual clones of each other and subscribers of the same right-wing ideology. They had been friends for 25 years and had fallen out just before the elections. When the BJP got the highest number of seats, albeit not enough for a simple majority, they tried to patch up, but could not agree on ministerial berths. The Sena decided to stay out.
Now that an agreement between them has been reached, the Sena is crossing over, lock, stock and barrel, from the opposition to the treasury benches, an unprecedented occurrence in Indian politics. But here is something even more piquant – the Nationalist Congress Party, which is tacitly supporting the BJP from outside, is aiming to become the main opposition.
That is not likely to happen, since the NCP has one seat less than the Congress and thus cannot legitimately claim the post of the Leader of the Opposition. Nonetheless, this gives a good indication of things to come. Given that the NCP has cosied up to the BJP, even providing unsolicited support to the latter when it was short of a majority, implies that no worthwhile opposition will come against the government in the coming months. In return for this support, the BJP will go soft on any inquiry into the many scam allegations against NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his party leaders.
Construction contracts
In any case, the interests of politicians from across party lines in Maharashtra are interlinked. The BJP’s promise to speed up infrastructural development, especially in Mumbai, means that there will be huge construction contracts to be bagged – and, for sure, there is enough to go around.
Among the first decisions of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s government was to push for the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the sea off Mumbai, a plan that was also supported even by the previous Congress Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. Like the previous government, the present dispensation wants to “redevelop” the eastern port land in Mumbai. But unlike its predecessor, this administration will speed it up because Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is taking personal interest in it.
With just 42 MLAs and virtually no one to support it, the Congress will not be able to provide much of an opposition to a government that will have 185 MLAs in a 288-member house. Fadnavis, as a result, will get a free hand to run his administration, though he will of course be taking the advice of his party boss Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has been invoking their names a lot and dashed to Delhi several times to get the list of new ministers approved – which is what Congress chief ministers, who regularly took permission from the party high command, used to do.
Watching his back
If Fadnavis has to worry, it is from internal sources. Senior party members, who were aiming for the top post in the state but instead got ministries, are still simmering and will wait for an opportunity to assert their primacy. The BJP bosses will undoubtedly have their eye on these disgruntled elements.
A bigger potential potential problem for Fadnavis will be his new partner, the Shiv Sena. The Sena is joining the coalition on the BJP’s terms. It wanted the deputy chief ministership, as per earlier arrangements between the two, but the demand was turned down. No heavyweight ministry has been given to the Sena. Thackeray had realised that his troops were getting restless in the absence of ministerial berths and the BJP was in no mood to relent – so he took the best that was offered. Now Fadnavis will have to keep strict control over his partner, which is chafing at being reduced to junior status. He has started with a peace offering, by setting up a committee, which will decide on a memorial for late Sena chief Bal Thackeray.
Fadnavis has the numbers and the blessings of his Delhi bosses. There is little doubt that he will have a free hand to run his government. Still, he will have to show that he can provide the governance that the state needs.
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Now that an agreement between them has been reached, the Sena is crossing over, lock, stock and barrel, from the opposition to the treasury benches, an unprecedented occurrence in Indian politics. But here is something even more piquant – the Nationalist Congress Party, which is tacitly supporting the BJP from outside, is aiming to become the main opposition.
That is not likely to happen, since the NCP has one seat less than the Congress and thus cannot legitimately claim the post of the Leader of the Opposition. Nonetheless, this gives a good indication of things to come. Given that the NCP has cosied up to the BJP, even providing unsolicited support to the latter when it was short of a majority, implies that no worthwhile opposition will come against the government in the coming months. In return for this support, the BJP will go soft on any inquiry into the many scam allegations against NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his party leaders.
Construction contracts
In any case, the interests of politicians from across party lines in Maharashtra are interlinked. The BJP’s promise to speed up infrastructural development, especially in Mumbai, means that there will be huge construction contracts to be bagged – and, for sure, there is enough to go around.
Among the first decisions of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s government was to push for the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the sea off Mumbai, a plan that was also supported even by the previous Congress Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. Like the previous government, the present dispensation wants to “redevelop” the eastern port land in Mumbai. But unlike its predecessor, this administration will speed it up because Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is taking personal interest in it.
With just 42 MLAs and virtually no one to support it, the Congress will not be able to provide much of an opposition to a government that will have 185 MLAs in a 288-member house. Fadnavis, as a result, will get a free hand to run his administration, though he will of course be taking the advice of his party boss Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has been invoking their names a lot and dashed to Delhi several times to get the list of new ministers approved – which is what Congress chief ministers, who regularly took permission from the party high command, used to do.
Watching his back
If Fadnavis has to worry, it is from internal sources. Senior party members, who were aiming for the top post in the state but instead got ministries, are still simmering and will wait for an opportunity to assert their primacy. The BJP bosses will undoubtedly have their eye on these disgruntled elements.
A bigger potential potential problem for Fadnavis will be his new partner, the Shiv Sena. The Sena is joining the coalition on the BJP’s terms. It wanted the deputy chief ministership, as per earlier arrangements between the two, but the demand was turned down. No heavyweight ministry has been given to the Sena. Thackeray had realised that his troops were getting restless in the absence of ministerial berths and the BJP was in no mood to relent – so he took the best that was offered. Now Fadnavis will have to keep strict control over his partner, which is chafing at being reduced to junior status. He has started with a peace offering, by setting up a committee, which will decide on a memorial for late Sena chief Bal Thackeray.
Fadnavis has the numbers and the blessings of his Delhi bosses. There is little doubt that he will have a free hand to run his government. Still, he will have to show that he can provide the governance that the state needs.