How a tug of war between Fadnavis and Gadkari results in Maharashtra stalemate

When a few years ago, Devendra Fadnavis then just 42 was elevated as the president of Bharatiya Janata Party’s Maharashtra’s unit, there was resistance from Nitin Gadkari, the tallest BJP leader from Vidharbha. But support from the RSS headquarters saw Fadnavis through even as Gadkari (also Nagpur’s favourite) stepped back. Gadkari was in the period 2009 onwards RSS’ informal candidate for the prime minister’s position if BJP won the next general election in 2014. But in Gujarat Narendra Modi had risen and as he consolidated his popularity nationwide, the RSS bosses decided to back him as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.

In the run up to the 2014 election, Narendra Modi consolidated his position further and after having his close associate Amit Shah from Gujarat appointed as all-India BJP chief effectively took control of the party apparatus also. After becoming the prime minister, this control over party matters in fact tightened. In October 2014 when Maharashtra elections were held, the BJP continuing on the Modi wave that brought them to power in New Delhi came to office in the state along with old ally Shiv Sena. There was however a difference: the BJP won 122 seats compared with 63 seats wrested by the Shiv Sena. In the previous assembly elections in 2009, both the parties had similar tallies: BJP (46) and Shiv Sena (45). This kind of changed the power equations between the two parties. More importantly, Modi was able to elevate Fadnavis to the position of chief minister. This was significant because it elevated a Vidharbha man as chief minister: thus showing a thumb to the western Maharashtra region which had become a fulcrum of state politics in the last few decades and represented the ascendancy of the Marathas. Thus netas like Sharad Pawar were sought to be marginalised. More importantly Nitin Gadkari who fancied his chance of becoming the first BJP chief minister of Maharashtra (he had held important ministerial portfolios in the Shiv Sena- BJP Maharashtra government pre-2009) was kept away. Gadkari continued as a senior cabinet minister in the union government and although he had a free hand in running the ministry (with no close control by Modi to which many other ministers were subject to) his power base was effectively curtailed. As Maharashtra chief minister he could have built a power base of his own and consolidated his position. The RSS was also happy at the elevation of Fadnavis because he was seen as their protégé: even his father Gangadhar had been an RSS man and had been an MLC before he died prematurely. The younger Fadnavis spoke the RSS language quite effectively.

Now fast forward. Realising that they have been eclipsed in state politics in the last five years, in the aftermath of the 2019 Maharashtra elections Shiv Sena and Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have come together (perhaps only informally) to attempt to marginalise the BJP. For Shiv Sena, the BJP is a natural partner but they are wary of the Devendra Fadnavis led-BJP. Reason: they perceive that Fadnavis is now more a Modi-Amit Shah man than an RSS protégé. They also feel that in the last five years, the Fadnavis-led BJP has consolidated power in Maharashtra at the cost of the Shiv Sena. That is why Shiv Sena is now keen on seeking the position of chief minister although their tally in the 2019 elections is far less than that of the BJP. The BJP won 105 seats and the Shiv Sena won 56 seats. Shiv Sena now realises that the BJP has effectively become the dominant partners in the combine. This is a sea change from the situation ten years or more ago when the Shiv Sena used to rule the roost. There is also the realisation in the Shiv Sena top echelons that if the situation is allowed to continue their party will slowly corrode and the BJP will take control. That is the reason why Shiv Sena with a lower tally is seeking the chief minister’s position with the idea of marginalising Fadnavis.