BJP the party which is known to get the party in power in spite of any situation, Goa, Karnataka are two biggest examples but why isn’t the BJP’s high command, which has thus far played a crucial role in forming the government even if it doesn’t get a majority, focusing on Maharashtra? The Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, has already taken the oath but the government of Maharashtra is not even close to formation. The tussle between Shiv Sena and BJP is not showing any sign of settlement. Having ruled for 5 years now, it’s time to test the worthy of CM in Maharashtra very soon and definitely as a RSS man he danced well but as a CM of big state, nobody can claim he has done well. He is just another CM of course he messed up the state as he did tango with PM Modi at the centre without raising any of the issues as expected, so there is nothing great being a CM of big commercial state. With economy in doldrums, Maharashtra’s contribution is very meagre and not really taken the lead to take the economy from impending recession. Pathetic situation at Mumbai city for the last five years right from rainy season (every season it suffered like no other city) and poor environmental awareness for the Govt right from disposal of garbage to falling bridges. They may escape saying its BMC’s job but as a capital city of the state it failed to raise to international level except in population. Mumbaikars who used to be proud being in the city now really running away or searching other cities to live and that’s the level at which it has been reduced now under Fadnavis. He can never become a best CM of Maharashtra as he is not a tall leader and never wanted to be so, as he is good RSS man who accepts anything high command say even if it’s bad like in GST policies and fitment issues, state has accepted everything resulting in MSME suffering right from demonetisation in 2016. Further, he couldn’t handle the agri-distress for years and Dalits always felt left out and all this has reflected in incumbency in assembly elections.
In the recent Haryana Assembly elections, as soon as news of the BJP’s failure to get majority broke, Home Minister Amit Shah stopped his ITBP programme and summoned Haryana Chief Minister to Delhi. Later, with JJP’s help, the BJP formed the government but no one knows, why is Fadnavis left to protect the Maharashtra throne all by himself? May be his relations with his own cabinet ministers were not good, for his greed of becoming second term CM and having his own favourites in his cabinet he diluted the tickets of tallest leaders of the state, and somewhere that has cost him much at this crucial stage. In 2014, Fadnavis had the support of prominent leaders like Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawde and Pankaja Munde, but this time Khadse and Tawde weren’t even given tickets, and Pankaja Munde lost the elections, leaving Fadnavis without much support. Moreover, he gave tickets going out of way they all lost elections with humiliating defeat. It is also evident that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has distanced himself from Maharashtra as we can recollect he did no rally in the state for any leader. It is said that Amit Shah, PM Modi and Gadkari were not prepared for an alliance with the Shiv Sena for the Assembly Elections but CM Fadnavis wanted to contest the elections with an alliance and this is the reason why Amit Shah isn’t taking initiative to talk to Uddhav Thackeray, but during the Lok Sabha elections, Amit Shah came to Mumbai himself to meet Uddhav Thackeray to form an alliance. Shiv Sena has repeatedly said that it was in this meeting where they discussed the proposition of the 2.5 years each CM tenure division. Now, if Amit Shah actually did make such a promise, it’s something only the BJP or the Shiv Sena can confirm or Shah who has to come open in public and deny or accept such things have been said. Fadnavis wants to be CM but he is not staking claim to form the government, because of the post of the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly.
BJP won 105 seats in the Assembly elections and with the support of Independent candidates, their number currently stands at 115. However, 145 is the number to get a majority i.e., if 30 MLAs walk out at the time of proving majority, then the BJP can form the government on its own. But even if BJP gets majority, it will have trouble in the election for the Speaker. May be NCP Chief Sharad Pawar would want someone from his party to be elected as Speaker. This has many political advantages – which will be the greatest weapon to curb the BJP. This implies that Shiv Sena or NCP can field their candidates against the BJP. Voting for this position is very discreet so the BJP will find it tough to win. So, until Fadnavis has the numbers required, he shall not stake claim to form the government. And, to achieve the magical number, he seems to be fighting all alone for the chair. Fadnavis is a worried man these days. The perception of the BJP being a perfectly run unit in Maharashtra under his command, with dominance over money, muscle and leadership, has come crumbling down in the last few days as the deadlock over government formation stretches to 11 days. Seeking to extract its pound of flesh after the BJP’s below par tally in the election, the Shiv Sena has amped up the rhetoric. The stalemate getting longer has also given an opening to savvy NCP chief Sharad Pawar to make his moves behind the scenes and explore the possibility of a government sans the BJP. Amid all this, there seems to be no help coming for Fadnavis to untangle the mess. Questions have swirled in the power corridors of the state over whether Fadnavis, whose rise in the state’s politics was being celebrated in the run-up to the assembly election, has been left to fend for himself by the party high command. With 105 out of 288 assembly seats in its kitty, the BJP looks vulnerable and helpless at this point and most of the blame has fallen on the CM’s shoulders. Farmers’ distress, unemployment, economic crisis and the failure to pacify those hurt by Maratha reservation has only added to the woes. A party which played hardball in Haryana recently, and in Goa in the recent past, seems to have abandoned Maharashtra despite being the single largest party by quite a margin here.
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