Sharad Pawar has become the political guru of Uddhav Thackeray.
The Shiv Sena and BJP might be involved in a deadlock over the seat sharing issues as neither of them is unwilling to relent. Both parties have suggested various formulas to resolve the stalemate over seat sharing issue but they were unable to arrive at a consensus. Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray has been adamant on his stand and is unwilling to accede the seats demanded by BJP. He also has expressed his ambitions to become Chief Minister of the state. According to sources, Uddhav is taking a leaf out of NCP President Sharad Pawar who is known for bargaining for more seats with its partner Congress.
According to sources from Shiv Sena, “Uddhav has been adopting the same policy followed by NCP which is unwilling to bow before the Congress and has been demanding an equal share of seats. Pawar has been a close friend of deceased Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray as both of them used to get along well despite political differences.”
“Thackeray during his last days had asked Pawar to lend a helping hand to Uddhav and never leave him alone. Uddhav has been learning the tricks of the trade from Pawar who is an established politician in Maharashtra. Thus Sharad Pawar has become a political mentor of Uddhav” added sources.
Few years back Sharad Pawar had met Uddhav Thackeray, at the Lilavati Hospital when the latter had underwent an angioplasty. Mr Pawar’s visit to the hospital could be considered important, given NCP’s tumultuous relation with the Congress. Earlier Pawar had threatened to downgrade his relationship with the Congress by quitting the government and extending support from the outside.
In subsequent years, while Bal Thackeray’s and Pawar’s personal relations peaked, they became the biggest rivals on the political front. Veteran journalist Vasant Deshpande said, “They never mixed personal relations and politics. As a result, even today Pawar has very cordial relations with the Thackeray family.” For over four-anda-half decades, relations between Pawar and the Thackeray family, particularly Thackeray Sr, soured on several occasions due to political issues, but both these stalwarts ensured there was no strain on their personal relation. The meeting between top leaders of Shiv Sena and BJP to resolve the seat sharing issue was held at Matoshree and chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi had to intervene in order to end the stalemate over seat sharing issue.
