Several legislators of the Shiv Sena (UBT) believe that it was time for the Uddhav Thackeray-led party to forge an independent path and contest elections on its own without depending on any alliance, party leader and Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve, said on Wednesday.
Devastated by the humbling defeat in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections, the remarks are a sign of growing unease within the Maha Vikas Aghadi, particularly the Uddhav faction of the Shiv Sena, about the future of the party as well as that of the Opposition alliance.
While Uddhav, his son Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut are believed to be in favour of keeping the alliance intact, a significant number of its legislators have now begun to question the effectiveness of the alliance with the NCP, and the Congress in particular.
“Many of our MLAs feel it is time for the Shiv Sena (UBT) to forge an independent path, contest elections on its own, and not depend on any alliance. The Shiv Sena was never meant to chase power… It (power) will come naturally when we remain steadfast in our ideology,” Danve said, adding that such a move would help the Shiv Sena (UBT) "build on its foundation".
The MVA suffered a rout in the Assembly elections recently conducted in the state, managing to collectively secure a disappointing 46 seats in the 288-strong Assembly. The Shiv Sena (UBT) bagged 20 seats, Congress 16 and the NCP 10, registering their worst performances in the state so far.
The crushing defeat against the rival faction of the Shiv Sena is hurting the UBT the most. While a leader claimed that the party's performance has also led to many in the party question their own allegiance to Thackeray after the split by Eknath Shinde, its 'ideological dilution' following the tie-up with Congress and NCP is what appears to be a bigger cause of concern for the party rank and file.
"The Sena has always promoted Marathi regionalism and Hindutva… The Congress and NCP have a more secular and socialist orientation. Given the BJP’s resounding success, which many attribute to the consolidation of Hindu votes, there is growing concern within the Sena(UBT) about the dilution of its Hindutva leanings to accommodate the Congress and NCP,” a Sena(UBT) candidate who lost in the recent elections told The Indian Express.
“Securing Muslim votes is beneficial, but if those votes drive away other supporters, their value becomes questionable,” another Sena(UBT) leader said.
Several party leaders have also pointed out to the underlying issues between the MVA partners, pointing to the delay in the announcement of seat-sharing as one of its examples. The leaders have also alleged that there were seats where Congress leaders openly backed Independent candidates despite an MVA leader being in the race.
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