NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday targetted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Mahayuti alliance over the uncertainty surrounding Maharashtra’s chief ministerial position.
Sena leader Sanjay Raut pointed out that unlike previously, the Bharatiya Janata Party now makes decisions about the state’s future in Delhi.
Speaking to reporters, Raut questioned why the Bharatiya Janata Party, despite having approximately 140 legislators and a clear majority, has not appointed a chief minister for Maharashtra after seven days.
“What is going on internally? We believe that if you have a majority, you should decide on a chief inister within 24 hours, regardless of the party. Why is it so difficult for Modi, Shah, and their leaders to decide on a party’s Chief Minister? The public wants to know. They say they will do whatever Modi says, but what other options did they have? It’s very unfortunate. They invoke Balasaheb Thackeray‘s name and do politics in Shiv Sena’s name, but decisions about its future are made in Delhi. The future of Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena was never decided in Delhi; it was decided in Mumbai. We never went to Delhi. There were leaders like Atal Ji and Advani Ji, but we never begged in front of them to make decisions about Shiv Sena. We make our own decisions under Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership,” he said.
Following Maha Vikas Agadhi’s poor performance in recent Maharashtra assembly elections, Raut acknowledged that Karyakartas believed the party should have contested independently. However, he clarified that Sena (UBT) would not exit the MVA.
“Not leaving MVA. We are discussing. Karyakartas felt we should have fought independently. These are just rumours. We fought in an MVA alliance in Lok Sabha and it was a big thing to win such a huge number,” Raut said.
Speaking about Shiv Sena’s participation in upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, Raut expressed confidence in MVA leaders’ decision-making abilities.
“Why are you guys worried? Just now the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections’ results have come…we will see, we know what to do. MVA leaders are capable of making decisions regarding the BMC polls,” he said.
In Maharashtra elections, the Mahayuti alliance secured a landslide victory with the BJP emerging as the biggest winner with 132 seats out of 280 member Maharashtra assembly, while its allies–the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar–won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
While the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) managed to secure only 46 seats. The Shiv Sena (UBT), led by Uddhav Thackeray, secured just 20 seats, Congress won 16, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) managed only 10.