Published 19:51 IST, March 12th 2020
BJP concedes 'deceiving' Shiv Sena, warns MVA govt of Jyotiraditya Scindia-style revolt
BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar warned that a Scindia-style revolt could take place in Maharashtra, casting aspersions over the stability of the state government.
Speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly on Thursday, senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar predicted a dire future for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Hinting that BJP was responsible for the collapse of the alliance with Shiv Sena, he remarked that this “mistake” would be rectified in the future. Moreover, he warned that a Jyotiraditya Scindia-style revolt could take place in Maharashtra, casting aspersions over the stability of the state government.
Sudhir Mungantiwar remarked, “We deceived you. We made a mistake. You should not take so much advantage of our mistake. The mistake will be rectified one day. Remember that another Jyotiraditya Scindia will emerge in Maharashtra too. But we will not behave like you. We will not practise the politics of revenge. Our politics will be for the welfare of the people. We will not practise the politics of giving a stay (on projects).”
Jyotiraditya Scindia joins BJP
Mungantiwar’s reference was to Scindia’s sudden resignation from the Congress party on March 10 which was followed by 22 Madhya Pradesh Congress MLAs putting in their papers. While their resignation letters are yet to be accepted by the MP Assembly speaker, Congress is making all possible attempts to woo back some of the dissident MLAs as the stability of its government is in serious threat. Scindia, who served as a Union Minister during the second term of the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre, was reportedly upset due to being sidelined despite playing a major role in the victory of Congress in the 2018 MP Assembly elections.
Moreover, he suffered a further setback after losing from the Guna parliamentary constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. On Wednesday, he officially joined BJP in the presence of party president JP Nadda. Contending that the Congress party was not the same anymore, Scindia also highlighted the failures of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh.
The collapse of BJP-Shiv Sena alliance
The BJP-Shiv Sena combine secured a comfortable majority in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections. However, they were unable to form the government as the BJP refused to accept Shiv Sena's demand of the rotational CM. As per Uddhav Thackeray, the BJP leadership had given a promise in this regard, a claim which was subsequently refuted by Amit Shah and Devendra Fadnavis. Thereafter, Shiv Sena joined hands with NCP and Congress to form the MVA government on November 28, 2019, under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray.
Updated 19:51 IST, March 12th 2020