Assembly results: MVA govt fears tremors of promised BJP ‘earthquake’

The most evident sign of this concern was an emergency meeting held between NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday to discuss the BJP’s win, and reportedly to formulate a strategy to insulate the MVA from the fallout.

The BJP has been on the offensive in Maharashtra, with Devendra Fadnavis leading the charge, including presenting in the Assembly video recordings as “proof” of a conspiracy being hatched by the MVA government to frame BJP leaders in false cases. On Monday, Fadnavis accused the Maharashtra government of appointing men on the Waqf Board who had “links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim”.

The BJP sees itself as the rightful ruling party in Maharashtra, and the MVA as an opportunistic alliance, bringing together the Shiv Sena and Congress and NCP, to seize power. The emphatic Assembly poll victories may strengthen the BJP resolve to make a fresh bid for power, including through early elections, MVA leaders fear.

Among the tools that both sides have freely used against each other are investigating agencies. Two senior MVA ministers – Anil Deshmukh, the former home minister of Maharashtra; and Nawab Malik, minority affairs minister – are in jail. The MVA government, in turn, has initiated action against senior officers believed to have links with the BJP, and summoned Fadnavis for questioning in a case of alleged illegal phone-tapping in the midst of an Assembly session.

The nervousness among MVA ranks can be seen in the recent calls by Congress leaders to fight all future elections with the Sena and NCP, including some who had earlier tried to put distance between them and the Sena. Recently, Congress corporators demanded that the MVA stay together for the coming BMC elections.

“We have conveyed our suggestions to senior AICC observers. The city leadership had also interacted with the Congress corporators one by one. Most of them are in favour of an alliance in the BMC polls,” said a corporator.

An MVA leader added: “The momentum is with the BJP in the coming municipal elections and their cadres are enthused. While I personally want my party to fight the municipal elections alone, there is a thinking among the three parties that they should contest the polls together.”

BJP leaders denied any intent of pulling down the government, saying it would collapse under the weight of its own contradictions. “There is no desperation among BJP leaders but as an opposition party we have to raise issues of corruption and misgovernance,” a senior BJP leader said.

Others are more direct. “The MVA government is caught in a sinkhole and is going to be completely exposed in the next few days. Their ministers are in jail, there are serious FIRs,” state BJP president Patil said.