Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray’s journey in Maharashtra politics has now come to a challenging turn. The power of the Thackeray family has been devalued, while the BJP is still struggling to establish its hold in the political arena of Maharashtra. Uddhav has lost the power earned by the late Hindu emperor Balasaheb Thackeray in one stroke by joining the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Now Matoshree does not have the importance in Maharashtra politics that she used to have during the alliance with the BJP.
Uddhav, for whom the chief minister’s chair was the main objective of the fight, lost the government by holding on to it for only half the term. This not only weakened his political position, but also the party organization went out of his hands. If there is any respect left in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, then it is only a gift from the people of Maharashtra. By giving more seats to the Congress, Uddhav has further weakened his position.
Decreasing power from BJP: When Uddhav was with BJP, his party’s share was around 50 percent, but now after coming to MVA, the power of Uddhav faction has come down to one-third. In the 2019 assembly elections, his party contested 165 seats, but this time he has to be satisfied with only 85 seats. According to seat sharing in MVA, Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (Sharad Pawar) are getting equal 85 seats. In 2019, BJP-Shiv Sena won 105 and 56 seats. This time, will Uddhav be able to win as many seats as last time? This is a big question.
Uddhav made every effort to become the face of the Chief Minister’s post of Mahavikas Aghadi, but neither Sharad Pawar nor Rahul Gandhi made any such promise to him. The party which wins more seats will have a stronger claim. Uddhav Thackeray presented his claim several times, but nothing came out of it. After this, Uddhav resorted to public statements to become the face of the Chief Minister’s post, but this strategy did not succeed. Not only this, Sharad Pawar and Rahul Gandhi dismissed his statements as personal advice.
Shrinking in scope: Shiv Sena’s influence area is now getting limited to Mumbai-Konkan only. Eknath Shinde’s dominance is getting stronger in areas like Pune.
Not only this, due to joining Mahavikas Aghadi, Uddhav has to oppose the politics of Hindutva. Due to standing with Congress and Sharad Pawar, he has to follow the political line, which is against his and his father Bala Saheb’s old principles. This situation has become a challenge for him, because he is not able to reach his Hindutva agenda to the people effectively.
The current circumstances are quite challenging for Uddhav Thackeray. He has only two and a half years of experience as Chief Minister, but apart from that there is no mention of any achievement. By joining the Maha Vikas Aghadi, he has not only weakened his political position, but the future of his party is also in doubt. His position is now much weaker than during the days of alliance with the BJP.
