A significant political realignment is being considered within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, as a section of its members explores the possibility of allocating seats to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) from Shiv Sena (UBT)'s existing quota. This strategic move is aimed at the upcoming municipal corporation elections in five major urban centers: Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, and Nashik.
Thackeray Cousins Forge a New Path
The initiative is gaining momentum primarily due to the efforts of the Thackeray cousins. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray recently held a closed-door meeting in Mumbai to finalize a seat-sharing arrangement for the crucial civic polls. Following this high-level discussion, party office-bearers in the key corporations have been instructed to commence local-level talks with each other.
Sanjay More, the Pune unit chief of Shiv Sena (UBT), confirmed the developments. "We have started holding combined meetings to identify the seats which can be shared within our parties for the municipal polls," More stated. He clarified that while the current dialogue is directly between Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS functionaries, discussions with the other MVA partners—the Congress and the NCP (SP)—are also on the agenda.
Congress Resistance and Alliance Dynamics
This budding partnership faces a significant hurdle: strong opposition from the Congress party. The grand old party is principally against the inclusion of Raj Thackeray's MNS in the MVA fold, citing the party's history of taking an aggressive stand against non-Marathi people. The resistance is so firm that Congress's Maharashtra in-charge, Ramesh Chennithala, recently announced that the party would contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls alone.
In a countermove, Mumbai Congress office-bearers met with NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar to seek his support for the BMC elections. Interestingly, Sharad Pawar has been advocating for the Congress to accept the MNS as part of the alliance for the municipal polls, creating an internal dynamic within the MVA.
A Potential Workaround for Unity
Despite the Congress's stance, a potential compromise is being actively contemplated to prevent a division of anti-BJP votes. A senior Congress member explained the logic behind the workaround. "Some members of the MVA feel that the alliance should remain intact to avoid division of votes in municipal polls," the leader said.
The proposed solution is nuanced. "While Congress is principally opposing the entry of MNS in the MVA, Raj's party can share seats with our alliance partner Shiv Sena (UBT) without disturbing the alliance. Whatever seats are allotted to Uddhav's party can be shared with MNS," the member elaborated. This model would allow the MNS to contest under Shiv Sena (UBT)'s quota, thereby keeping the formal MVA structure intact while still incorporating Raj Thackeray's influence. The final decision on this politically sensitive option is expected to be taken at a meeting of the MVA coordination committee.
It is important to note that while these preliminary talks between the two Thackeray-led parties are underway, there has been no official proposal from any party to formally include the MNS in the MVA as of now.
