Maharashtra polls: ‘We will go wherever Shinde goes’: Sena leader’s remark kicks up row | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: A controversial remark by a senior Shiv Sena leader has set the cat among the pigeons in the Mahayuti alliance, just two days before the results of the Maharashtra assembly election are set to be declared. Sanjay Shirsat, MLA and chief spokesperson of the Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde, said they “will go wherever Shinde goes”.

Shirsat said this to a news reporter, when quizzed on whether Shinde will join hands with Sharad Pawar, chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (SP), a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). A day after exit polls suggested a win for the ruling Mahayuti alliance, of which the Sena is a part, political circles have been abuzz with speculation on who would become chief minister of Maharashtra, should the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance return to power – will Shinde retain the post or will it go to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis?

“We will accept his (Shinde’s) every decision… Our experience says that he takes appropriate decisions, hence we will walk behind him holding his shirt. We are bound to follow Eknath Shinde saheb in all his decisions. We stand with him with full vigor,” Shirsat told the media, when he was asked what the Sena’s stand would be if Shinde chose to join ranks with Sharad Pawar, in his quest for the chief minister’s post.

The BJP said the Sena leader’s remark was his personal opinion, while state BJP chief, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, said that BJP workers wanted Devendra Fadnavis to be chief minister again.

Shirsat’s controversial statement has forced the tussle over the chief minister’s post to resurface. While Shinde is keen to retain the position, there is a growing demand in the BJP for the post if a Mahayuti government returns to power in the state.

But denying Shinde the chair could have serious implications. In June 2022, Shinde broke away from the Shiv Sena, leading to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government. He, along with loyal MLAs, then teamed up with the BJP to form the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra. The BJP then opted to give chief ministership to Shinde. He continued in this position for the remaining two-and-a-half year tenure of the three-party Mahayuti government.

Sena leaders claim that, according to surveys, Shinde is the most popular face among Mahayuti leaders. Besides, they state, Shinde already heads the government and if Mahayuti returns to power, he should get the chief minister’s post again. However, all this posturing is moot as the results of the election will decide who will form the new government and therefore who can become chief minister.

Still, there has been speculation that Pawar and Shinde have been in touch with each other. Besides, during the election campaign, Pawar did not target Shinde very much, and vice versa, which had also irked the Uddhav-led Sena (UBT).

Shirsat’s remarks have taken the BJP by surprise. In a quick retort, BJP leader Pravin Darekar said, “I don’t feel it is the Shiv Sena’s official stand. I would like to point out that Shinde saheb contested the election against the MVA and Uddhav Thackeray.” He added that Shinde would not abandon the principle on which he had forged an alliance with the Mahayuti and the BJP.

Bawankule tried to defuse the issue. He said, “Workers of every party want their leader to become chief minister. Our workers want to see Fadnavis, Shinde’s workers want to see him, and similarly Ajit Pawar’s workers want him to be in the CM’s position.”

Shirsat’s statement also has significance against the backdrop of NCP leader Nawab Malik’s statement that anything is possible in a post-poll scenario. In an interview to news channel India Today, Malik had indicated that Ajit Pawar would be the kingmaker. “Before the 2019 election, nobody had predicted what kind of government would come to power in Maharashtra. Anything can happen. Nobody is an enemy forever. Nobody is a friend forever. Things are changing. We have seen this in 2019,” he said.