Mumbai: Neither Harshwardhan Sapkal, the newly appointed Congress state unit chief, nor Ramesh Chennithala, the party’s in-charge of Maharashtra affairs, met Uddhav Thackeray following Sapkal’s appointment – highlighting the strained ties within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
The lack of coordination was further evident when Thackeray, questioned on Monday about Shiv Sena (UBT) potentially contesting the BMC polls alone, he said that he had suggested a meeting of the INDIA front, but that didn’t come through.
Despite sharing the opposition benches during the ongoing state budget session, the MVA allies have shown little collaboration. Notably, when Thackeray led a Shiv Sena (UBT) delegation to Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, demanding that Bhaskar Jadhav be recognised as Leader of the Opposition (LoP), neither Congress nor the Sharad Pawar-led NCP joined the effort.
Thackeray remained noncommittal when pressed on Jadhav’s prospects, claiming unawareness. However, political observers suggest the ruling alliance is reluctant to concede the LoP position to the Sena (UBT) faction.
