BJP-Sena alliance may go bust due to MNS

Indian politics is known for its quirky turns and unpredictability A few months back when the Aam Aadmi Party AAP took political centre stage in Delhi it became a topic of discussion among all sections of society Established political parties huddled up to ponder over their strategies to face the challenge The state was also eagerly waiting for AAPrsquos next moves in Mumbai and elsewhere It was presumed that the AAP would apart from giving a run to the likes of CongressNCP or Shiv SenaBJP in Maharashtra also seriously damage the Raj Thackerayled MNSAAP was all set to become a viable alternative to the weakest ever opposition in state politics But much water has flown after its decision to quit Delhi government coupled with a few other incidents involving its leadersThe MNS which was expected to suffer with AAPrsquos emergence has once again assumed political centre stage thanks to some clever moves by leaders of established political parties Just one meeting between exBJP chief Nitin Gadkari and Raj Thackeray resulted in MNS backing Narendra Modi for the post of prime ministerThe statersquos political scene has been muddled further after this meeting because the BJP seems ready to do anything to keep the MNS in good humour The party has decided to ignore the tantrums of Shiv Sena and its chief Uddhav Thackeray It will be interesting to watch whether the BJP decides to leave the Pune Lok Sabha seat for MNS as a friendly gesture Of the seven seats that MNS has decided to contest as of now Pune is the only seat in BJPrsquos quota mdash the rest are with Shiv SenaThe ongoing feud in the Thackeray family is set to worsen further with Rajrsquos move to befriend the BJP and oppose the Shiv Sena MNSrsquo decision to field its candidates from seven Lok Sabha constituencies will badly affect Shiv Sena candidatesrsquo fortunes The six seats ndash Mumbai south Mumbai south central Mumbai north west Kalyan Nashik and Shirur are with the Shiv Sena as per the seat sharing formula It seems Raj wants to teach the Sena particularly Uddhav Thackeray a lesson as it has strongly objected to letting MNS join the NDA A large number of Shiv Sainiks will also be in a quandary as they have always favoured joining hands with MNSShiv Sena may find itself in trouble as it did not pay heed to Gadkarirsquos clarification he said the purpose of the meeting was ldquoin the interest of the NDArdquo MNS has been the biggest worry for the BJP and it was amply proved in the 2009 general elections to Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha The presence of MNS candidates immensely benefited the Congress and NCP robbing the vote bank of the BJPBut Shiv Senarsquos refusal to the MNS come what may might affect the partyrsquos future with the BJP A few nasty comments appeared in the party mouthpiece Saamna against Gadkari for his attempts to be cosy with the MNS this has further strained relations between the two alliance partners The BJP decided to fight back in unison First senior leader Gopinath Munde who was himself deeply upset with the GadkariRaj rendezvous and skipped a crucial party meet in anger said the comments were uncalled for He also admitted to meeting Raj in Pune recentlySecond the BJP approached Raj Thackeray to muster his partyrsquos support for the upcoming biennial elections to the state council BJP decided to field two candidates Vinod Tawde being one of them Tawde maintains the capacity to wrest extra votes needed for the council polls He and city BJP chief Ashish Shelar met Raj on Friday with a request for MNS backing during the council polls If MNS supports the BJP one of the two Shiv Sena candidates is set to lose the council election If this happens it will further widen the rift between the BJP and the Sena taking them to the verge of parting waysIn short Shiv Sena has a big challenge in store for it It will be interesting to watch how Uddhav plays his cardsThe writer is Political Editor of midday