MUMBAI: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday expressed displeasure at the growing differences among the Mahayuti allies ahead of the October 23 biennial elections to five seats in the state’s legislative council. Warning that individual leaders backing candidates outside the alliance’s official line was inappropriate, Fadnavis also called upon Shiv Sena chief and deputy CM Eknath Shinde to take cognisance of such instances and ensure that alliance discipline was maintained.
Fadnavis’s remarks came after the Shiv Sena’s Sillod MLA Abdul Sattar openly extended support to Pratapsinh Patil, the opposition NCP (SP) candidate for the Aurangabad Graduates’ constituency, despite the Mahayuti fielding NCP candidate Satish Chavan from the seat. In fact, Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat too had earlier opposed Chavan’s candidature but changed his stand on Saturday.
Fadnavis proclaimed that in his view, Shirsat had clearly stated his party’s support to Satish Chavan’s candidature. “However, I expect the Shiv Sena president (Eknath Shinde) to take cognisance of the matter and ensure that individual leaders do not undermine the unity of the alliance when all partners are expected to work together. Such conduct is not appropriate. Aurangabad is not the only constituency where the ruling allies are facing competing claims. In the Pune Teachers’ constituency, the Shiv Sena has officially extended support to independent candidate Sachin Sanap, a rebel, against the BJP’s Kaustubh Gawade. In the Amravati Teachers’ constituency, the Sena has fielded sitting MLC Kiran Sarnaik. His candidature triggered a revolt among three BJP aspirants, Dr Sangita Shinde-Bonde, Chandrashekhar Bhuyar and Sumit Pawar, who also entered the contest. It has also expelled Nitin Gudadhe, its Amravati rural unit general secretary, for supporting the rebels. Despite the emerging differences, Fadnavis asserted that the Mahayuti remained united, contrasting it with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
“Thus, if an individual leader takes a different position, it cannot be treated as the party’s official stand,” he said. The contest has subsequently been described by the parties as a “friendly fight”. The BJP on October 12 expelled all three for six years for “anti-party activities” and terminated their primary membership. “I believe the MVA has been divided from the very beginning whereas the Mahayuti is working together as a united alliance,” he said. “I am confident that Mahayuti candidates will win in all five constituencies.”
