Enter it, escape it

Devendra Fadnavis seems to have become the prime target of the Opposition while other Mahayuti leaders are not attacked that much. File Pic/Satej Shinde

The ‘Chakravyuh' - the epic Mahabharata's battle formation - is quite popular in political parlance for describing an isolated leader's encirclement by the Opposition forces. The son of Arjuna, Abhimanyu, entered the Chakravyuh and perished because he lacked the knowledge to break through the entrapment. In Maharashtra politics, ex-CM Devendra Fadnavis said that the Opposition had been trying to lay a trap for him, but unlike the classic character, he was a modern Abhimanyu, who knew how to enter the Chakravyuh and escape it too. The Dy CM's comments came in response to observations about whether the Opposition had cherry-picked him as a sole target in the run-up to the Assembly elections.

Prime target

Several events/information have led observers to believe that Fadnavis is a prime target of those who go soft on some of his associates in his party, the government and the ruling alliance called Mahayuti. Last week was marked by viral information that NCP (Sharad Pawar) working president Supriya Sule had asked her party spokespersons to profusely attack Devendra Fadnavis and spare CM Eknath Shinde, and also avoid criticising a Maratha activist Manoj Jarange, who has emerged as Fadnavis's harshest critic whose posturing had given the MVA a clear advantage in some Lok Sabha constituencies. Jarange has threatened to do the same in the Assembly elections.

A tagline - ‘Shinde se bair nahi, Devendra teri khair nahi', which translates as, ‘we have no enmity with Shinde, but we don't spare Fadnavis', had become a topic of discussion in political and media circles. When asked, Sule questioned the authenticity of the information. She demanded a video recording, if any, of her making such statements to the spokespersons.

‘People know'

The BJP leaders did not buy Sule's explanation. Fadnavis supporters took turns to counter the NCP leader's alleged strategy. Fadnavis came out with a rejoinder later, but with a pinch of sarcasm. "I'm very thankful (to her). I feel honoured," he told media persons. He later told TV9's conclave that his emergence as the Opposition's sole target had reaffirmed his position as a leader, who, as the CM, had given the state a new vision and unprecedented development. "People know what I have done for the state, and what they (Opposition) have done. The people won't fall for a campaign against me. The Opposition has nothing else to say except things against me every morning, noon and night," he said.

Choppy waters

Whatever high his confidence level has always been, the choppy waters are here to stay to destabilise Fadnavis. There is no reason for him to not understand the roughness within and outside his area of work. He will be watched for escaping the Chakravyuh because he has already entered it, taking on the layers of attackers who have earned more teeth post the Lok Sabha elections. In addition to being a focal point of the very aggressive Opposition, the intra-BJP arrangements for Fadnavis have altered since June 2022. Add to it the issues within Mahayuti.

The conditions the ex-CM enjoyed and benefited from in the 2014 and 2019 elections are not available to him in 2024. Senior leaders like Nitin Gadkari, who did not really take a keen interest in state politics, are being pressed into service this time around. The RSS, a common link between Gadkari and Fadnavis, is expected to be seen in a grand action (unlike Lok Sabha polls), to support the BJP's cause of emerging as a single largest party. Several senior leaders and ministers from seven to eight states have been stationed across Maharashtra to prepare the party for the elections.

The concept of collective leadership has been floated ahead of the state elections, making it clear that the party does not intend to project anyone as the CM's face. Amidst controversies over hogging credit for the ‘Ladki Bahn Yojana', the Mahayuti partners are inching towards a seat-sharing pact. Once finalised, it will be interesting to see whose stamp of influence the BJP's list of poll candidates carries.

P.S. The BJP leaders who will be touring the state have been instructed to break fast and dine at the local party workers' homes, instead of posh restaurants and crowded roadside dhabas. There was speculation whether this particular advice stemmed from a year-old controversy over state party president Chandrashekhar Bawankule's statement regarding treating journalists at dhabas.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore
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