Deal dena kaam hai dildaar ka!

(From left) Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar at a function. File Pic/Satej Shinde

These days New Delhi is abuzz with political leaders from states where the Bharatiya Janata Party has pre-poll alliances. From Maharashtra, the ruling Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party have their chiefs frequenting the national capital, apparently for talks with the BJP high command. Their concern is that they would be given a very small share to contest in the state's 48 Lok Sabha seats. Ways and means are being explored to save CM Eknath Shinde, DCM Ajit Pawar and their respective rank and file, a big embarrassment ahead of their first major event post break-up.

The Opposition bloc, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, has begun ridiculing the Sena and NCP splinters over the seat-sharing formula, to be ‘enforced' by the BJP. No wonder, the morale of the breakaway camps is sagging, and as a result, some second-rung leaders, apparently frustrated and angry, have been gunning for the BJP. Some of them have delivered anti-BJP content that created quite a flutter. The BJP leaders have given them a fitting reply. Unlike previous instances, no leader has been asked to follow restraint while speaking against the ally.

Ever since the BJP's purported resolve to contest more than two-thirds of seats became public, it has been free-for-all over the last week. Threats to break ties and to seek revenge were issued. The power-sharing formula between Amit Shah and Uddhav Thackeray that finally led undivided Sena to the MVA was reiterated by the Shinde camp. Betrayals, allegedly committed by the BJP, have been talked about over and over again by the Shinde camp that has been accused of betrayal by the Thackeray faction. Ajit Pawar's NCP has been diplomatic and civilised in its bid to retrieve much more from the negotiations with the BJP.

With allies scurrying, the BJP has maintained that the seats would be shared based only on the vastavikta (reality on the ground). It means Shinde and Ajit won't get the seats the BJP's surveys and analysis say that the allies cannot win. It is said that thrust will be given on the winnability of a particular ally and its candidate that the BJP has measured using various parameters. There could be a possibility of an exchange of candidates between the NDA partners, said some observers.

When released, the Maharashtra formula should be able to tell us about who among the two partners, one with whom the BJP says it has an emotional bond, and the other with whom it shares only a political pact, gets a good deal. Shinde and Pawar have asked for the number of seats their undivided parties had contested in 2019. It is said that Shinde may be brought down to the number that equals his factions' current strength in the Lok Sabha. If so, then, we will also see whether the same formula applies to Ajit Pawar's party. And if it doesn't apply, it will be interesting to see the Shinde Sena's response.

Prince turning pauper?

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) took pride in being the richest government agency. Cash flow was in abundance then. MMRDA's deposits were worth Rs 20,000 crore just four years ago. But now it's all gone. The authority that has spent on creating infrastructure, was once a lender for the state government. Now it is debt-ridden. In this year's budget, MMDRA's debt figure has risen above one lakh crore rupees. Its budget deficit is expected to increase further in the coming years. The reason for the authority's fiscal flaw is that its huge expenditure hasn't given it returns.

MMRDA is into creating public assets such as roads, metro rail networks, sea links etc. These public projects don't assure the promoter sizable returns. And even if they do, the earnings they make don't turn projects profitable. Some barely manage to recover operational costs. Entrusted with building and operating so many infrastructure projects, the MMRDA's finances aren't going to be healthier anytime soon. The authority's annual budget is increasingly looking like the state's budget and is influenced by the people who run the government that also controls MMRDA.