What next for Uddhav-Raj Thackeray alliance plans after BEST poll rout?

India Today

13 hours ago

The fledging alliance between the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has suffered an early jolt, with the joint panel put up by the parties of first cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray drawing a blank in elections to the prestigious BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) cooperative credit society.The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS Utkarsha panel lost to the panel led by Shashank Rao, son of labour union veteran Sharad Rao. Rao's group swept 14 of the 21 seats while the Sahakar Samruddhi panel, led by BJP leaders Prasad Lad and Pravin Darekar; Kiran Pawaskar of deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena; and an SC/ ST employees' union, won the other seven. Four of the seven seats went to BJP nominees, two to the Shinde Sena and one to the SC/ST workers' union.advertisement
However, since Shashank Rao, who also leads the Municipal Union, a labour union in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has quit the Janata Dal (United) to join the BJP, this translates into a clean sweep for the BJP.The Shiv Sena (UBT)'s BEST Kamgar Sena has been controlling the 84-year-old credit society for the past nine years. In the past, the BEST credit society has been controlled by socialist leaders such as Narayan Phenany, a close associate of former Union minister George Fernandes. Rao, who was Fernandes's close-aide-turned-foe, held the reins till 2016. Opponents of the Shiv Sena (UBT) claim it has mismanaged the affairs of the society.Despite the localised nature of this poll and a small electoral college, the results were seen as a verdict on whether the Marathi manoos in Mumbai and nearby areas would stand by the Thackeray cousins in case they join forces politically. BEST's workers are predominantly Maharashtrian and spread out across Mumbai and the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Leaders such as Narayan Rane (who is now with the BJP) and Vitthal Chavan have been BEST chairmen. The society has around 15,123 voters and a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore. Of these, around 83.69 per cent people exercised their franchise.Under the Utkarsha panel, the Shiv Sena (UBT) had conceded two seats for the MNS. The elections have been marred by allegations and counter-allegations. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS combine claimed the BJP had bribed voters, and the state co-operation department and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police had launched enquiries against office-bearers of the society over alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property at Lonavala for a guesthouse.'This is a victory of the workers. The workers have given a resounding reply to the Shiv Sena (UBT) for implementing an anti-labour policy and taking the undertaking to seed,' Rao told INDIA TODAY. He also indicated that the BJP had played a role in the polls.Suhas Samant, president of the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s BEST Kamgar Sena, who was leading the charge for the Utkarsha panel in the elections, claimed the BJP had deployed men and resources to woo voters. Around 6,000 members of the society reside in the belt between Kalyan and Asangaon in Mumbai's extended eastern suburbs, while another 5,000 or so stay in Navi Mumbai.Samant alleged the BJP had sent its workers to visit and influence these voters. 'This is a victory of money power. They (BJP) knew that if the Thackeray brothers join forces, it will pose a challenge in the BMC polls,' said Samant. The elections to the BMC, which is the richest civic body in India, may take place this year or in early 2026. Samant claimed the deployment of state agencies like the EOW had affected the panel's campaign machinery.advertisementKeshav Upadhye, chief spokesperson of the BJP in Maharashtra, derided the Thackeray cousins as 'two zeroes' whose total added to zero.Speculation of a political realignment in Maharashtra has been rife since the Thackeray cousins dropped more than a hint of ending years of distancing and joining forces. Before launching the MNS, Raj, a former president of the Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena (BVS), the now-defunct student wing of the undivided Shiv Sena, was seen as his uncle and Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's political successor. However, he had to gradually make way for elder first cousin Uddhav in the party. Raj eventually quit the Shiv Sena in 2005 to set up the MNS the next year.The Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS were mauled in the assembly elections last year. The Shiv Sena (UBT)'s strength in the legislative assembly dwindled to just 20 while the MNS, which had won one seat in 2019, was wiped out; even Raj's son Amit lost the Mahim seat.advertisementThe assembly election defeat led to the two parties making overtures to each other, with Uddhav and Raj reported to have taken the initiative to open lines of communication for a possible patch-up. The two saw a political opening in the Mahayuti government's controversial move to make Hindi the mandatory third language for students from classes 1 to 5.On July 5, Uddhav and Raj shared the stage in a protest meeting at Worli in Mumbai, espousing a joint cause of protecting Marathi. Sources say that while an alliance may be on the cards, much depends on the outcome of the seat-sharing talks.While the opposition to the move to make Hindi mandatory had been launched by academicians and civil society groups, it was the prospect of the two Thackerays joining hands on the issue of Marathi pride that seemed to have forced the Devendra Fadnavis government to rethink.The undivided Shiv Sena was seen as a party with an emotive base, and it is felt that the two Thackerays joining forces could galvanise their core Marathi voters in Mumbai and the surrounding areas and pay dividends in the BMC polls.advertisementIn Mumbai, the BJP is seen as a party with a strong base among non-Marathi speaking groups, such as Gujaratis, Marwaris, Jains, north Indians, and a section of Maharashtrian upper and middle castes. A senior leader of the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which is part of the Mahayuti, said the Thackerays joining forces would only help coalesce the non-Marathi voters in favour of the BJP. In contrast, the Marathi voters may splinter between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS combine, Shinde's Shiv Sena and other parties. The leader noted that Shinde may end up losing political space if the Thackerays were to come together.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch