Sharad Pawar's praise for Eknath Shinde makes Shiv Sena (UBT) see red: 'Insult to alliance'

NCP(SP) president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday showered rich praise on Maharashtra Deputy CM and Shiv Sena supremo Eknath SHinde. (Image Credit: X/@mieknathshinde)

With internal fissures and the Maharashtra defeat casting a cloud over the future of the Opposition alliance in the state, the Maha Vikas Aghadi appeared to plunge deeper into crisis as the Shiv Sena (UBT) launched a direct attack against NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar over the latter felicitating Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at an event organized in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Shinde was conferred the Mahadji Shinde Rashtra Gaurav Puraskar at the 98th Akhil Bahartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan by Pawar who went on to praise Shinde for his contribution to the development of the Thane, navi Mumbai and Mumbai regions of the state.

"Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Mumbai require strong and consistent leadership to navigate their political landscape effectively. Leaders like former municipal presidents Savlaram Patil and Rangnekar played key roles and Eknath Shinde has contributed significantly as well," Pawar said.

VIDEO | Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde (@mieknathshinde) received the Mahadji Shinde Rashtriya Gaurav Award from NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) at New Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi earlier today. Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia (@JM_Scindia) was also pic.twitter.com/j3FHX7pOBh

Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 11, 2025

The remarks have left Pawar's alliance partner Shiv Sena (UBT) furious. Party leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday termed Pawar's act as an insult to the MVA alliance and said such things should be avoided in politics.

"Yesterday, Sharad Pawar did not felicitate Shinde, but he felicitated Amit Shah. This is our feeling," Raut told reporters.

You are a senior politician and we respect you. But you are honouring those who split Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena with the help of Amit Shah and weakened Maharashtra. This has hurt the sentiments of the Marathi people," he added.

While the NCP(SP) dismissed Raut's remarks as personal opinion, stressing that it was a cultural event where politics need not be brought up, the BJP was quick to pounce on the MVA discord, suggesting that Pawar's praise was an acknowledgement of Eknath SHinde being a better chief minister than Uddhav Thackeray.

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule further pointed out that Pawar had earlier written in his autobiography that Thackeray visited Mantralaya only twice during his entire tenure while Shinde worked 22 hours a day.

In his acceptance speech, Shinde also reciprocated to Pawar's praise and said he enjoys good relations with Pawar. "Pawar also bowls googly deliveries that are tough to decipher. I have good relations with Pawar...he has not bowled me a googly and am confident that he will not bowl me a googly in the future as well," he said.

Shinde further said that Pawar had witnessed first-hand the progress made by the state during his tenure and under the leadership of prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

"He (Pawar) calls me often. One has to learn from Pawar how to maintain relations going beyond political lines," he said.

The tussle between the two MVA partners comes barely months after the alliance was decimated by the Mahayuti of the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP in the Maharashtra elections. The Opposition alliance has been navigating rough seas since the poll outcome with rumours of a large section of Shiv Sena as well as NCP MLAs wishing to jump ship to join the NDA.

The elections also saw "friendly contests" between the MVA partners on at least 21 seats. The alliance bore the brunt as the NDA managed to win 17 of these seats.