Maharashtra political crisis: How Uddhav Thackeray lost his generals

With his downfall from the Mantralaya throne Uddhav Thackeray has come full circle not exactly in the past position but somewhat weaker than it was in 2019 His supporters may draw a parallel between Thackerayrsquos story and the Shakespearean drama Julius Caesar on how the Roman emperor was done in by his ownThackeray not only lost the crown but a rank of powerful generals who he has accused of backstabbing him by collaborating with his political rival the Bharatiya Janata Party whom he had beaten to wrest the reins in a fashion that antiBJP parties drew inspiration from He hit the road with entirely different in character copassengers the Congress and the Nationalist PartyBranding it an unholy alliance the BJP consistently said it was bound to break sooner or later The Maha Vikas Aghadi extended its life even as the BJP leaders repeatedly predicted the Thackeray governmentrsquos exit not because of them but because of the unrest within the MVA and SenaLike any Shakespearean drama Thackerayrsquos tenure kept the audience on tenterhooks sometimes bored and most of the time excited not just because of his performance but also because of his supporting cast and villain de piece who kept changing even as an omnipresent BJP remained a constant threat New adversaries emerged from among his rank and allies as plays within the play grabbed the limelight For Thackeray and a select few the BJP was their prime opponent At the end the BJP ended being a close friend of his generals for whom the NCP and Congress combine was the main villain Sena strongman Eknath Shinde who headed the plum urban development department sprang up with such a revolt that the party had never seen even before His and the 38 othersrsquo grudge was that their party presidentturnedCM was a puppet in the hands of the Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar to be more specific If we were to put it in a classic way then Shinde grouprsquos rhetoric sounded like ldquoOur Nero played a second fiddle to the NCP as Shiv Sena burnedhelliprdquoThe BJP which believes and acts with a lsquonever say never diersquo approach had its sights set firmly on Shindersquos resentment Once bitten and twice shy the BJP did not make an attempt on the NCP again but infiltrated the Sena using various ways and finally decamped with its valuable assets the 39 elected representatives Fencesitters independent MLAs came along happily The rest is history as Thackeray quit on the eve of a trust vote that was confirmed by the Supreme CourtAt times Thackeray appeared a shrewd politician tactical player and a speaker who played to the gallery which the Congress and NCP supporters crowded His balladeers elevated him to a position that they say could make him the prime minister one day Balladeers did their job but the real political ones who claimed to be experts in knowing the pulse of the people within and outside failed miserably in helping him see and assess potent threats he faced inside the party citadel His forwards abandoned him the defenders became weak as the assault intensified The balladeers and guides ensured that he focused all his energies on verbally countering the BJP instead of giving him insights into Sena party affairs that first went haywire and later were beyond controlAlso Read Uddhav Thackeray resigns as Maharashtra CM says he will rebuild SenaWhat he is left now with is the sainiks on the streets whom he banks on for reviving the party ldquoI sat in the CMrsquos seat unexpectedly and I am going unexpectedly I have never said I will come back again hence I am also quitting as a member of the legislative councilrdquo he told the cadre in a social media address but not before assuring them that he would act steadfast and more fiercely as the president of the party that will rise once againlsquoBackstabbedrsquoldquoCommenting on the current crisis CM Thackeray said lsquoMy own people have betrayed me backstabbed mersquordquo said Water Resources Minister Jayant PatilA minister requesting anonymity said that the CM thanked everyone for supporting him since he assumed the top office in the state even though he had no administrative experience He also sought pardon for wrongdoing if any on his part