Mumbai: Following the assembly election drubbing, accusations and internal discord have surfaced within the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray faced pressure from MLAs and party functionaries to exit the MVA and contest civic and local body elections independently.
However, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut clarified on Thursday that there was no rift within the MVA. “We are not leaving the MVA. Some karyakartas felt we should have contested independently, but these are just rumours. We fought as part of the MVA alliance in the Lok Sabha elections, and it was a significant achievement to win such a large number of seats,” Raut said.
When asked if the UBT will contest alone or as part of MVA in the upcoming BMC polls, Raut said that the MVA leaders are ‘capable’ of making decisions regarding the BMC elections. “Why are you guys worried? We will see, we know what to do,” he added.
Meanwhile, UBT leader Ambadas Danve lashed out at its alliance partner Congress for prematurely discussing the chief minister’s post before the assembly elections.
Danve said, “There was a real chance for the Congress to win in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Maharashtra, but their over confidence hindered their progress. There were reports that Congress leaders were preoccupied with ministerial positions, with 10 leaders vying for the CM’s post. If Congress had named Thackeray as CM candidate, it could have boosted the MVA’s votes by 2 to 5%.”
Dismissing the criticism, Congress state president Nana Patole said, “I’m not concerned with petty disputes. I won’t engage in discussions about who won or lost. We’ll respond in due course.”
Former BJP MP Navneet Rana hit out at Shiv Sena (UBT), saying that the party leaders seem to always be upset regardless of which party they ally with.
“Uddhav Thackeray’s party leaders say, if they had fought alone, they would have got more seats. I think his party is always upset in alliance. When it gets more seats by being with BJP, it is upset and when it gets less seats then also they can’t digest the fact,” the BJP leader said.
