Uddhav Thackeray's style of functioning responsible for 'split' in Shiv Sena, says BJP's Devendra Fadnavis
Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis was referring to Eknath Shinde and 39 other Shiv Sena legislators revolting against the party leadership, which had led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
New Delhi: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis has hit out at Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and said that his style of functioning was responsible for the "split" in his party. Fadnavis was referring to Eknath Shinde and 39 other Shiv Sena legislators revolting against party leadership, which had led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra this year. Speaking at an event on Saturday (September 10, 2022), the senior BJP leader also said that only Uddhav Thackeray has to be blamed for the recent political turmoil in the state.
"Only Uddhav Thackeray is responsible for the political debacle and crisis in Maharashtra. His working style is responsible for the Shiva Sena's split. Around 30-40 MLAs left the MVA alliance and he had no idea about it," Fadnavis was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
"Uddhav Ji used to say in his speeches - 'You can try to bring down my government'. I said - 'One day your government will come down and you won't even realise it'. And that is exactly what happened," Fadnavis added.
It is notable that the BJP and Shiv Sena had contested the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls together. However, Sena then parted ways with the saffron party following differences over sharing the chief minister's post. Subsequently, the Uddhav-led party joined hands with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress to form the MVA government.
"Uddhav Thackeray made a mockery of the mandate. When we fought in alliance, at every gathering, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah said the CM will be from the BJP. Uddhav Ji was also on stage and clapped. But when aspirations exceed capabilities, people make decisions," Fadnavis said.
Uddhav Thackeray might be political opponent, but not 'enemy'
Devendra Fadnavis, however, stated that Uddhav Thackeray might be his political opponent, but they were not "enemies".
"I can talk to Uddhav Thackeray even now, but it may be a non-political conversation. All things should not be viewed from a political angle only," he said.
The former chief minister also trashed rumours of conspiracy at being given the deputy CM's post.
Trusting NCP leader Ajit Pawar 'biggest' political blunder
Devendra Fadnavis also admitted that believing senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar was his "biggest" political blunder, and said that in order to take revenge for the back-stabbing, it was important that one lives long.
After the 2019 Assembly election results, Fadnavis and Pawar had taken oath as the state chief minister and deputy CM, respectively, at a hush-hush ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan in November that year. However, their government lasted only nearly 80 hours after Ajit, Sharad Pawar's nephew quit.
"When such things happen, it is important that you live long enough to take revenge for such political back-stabbing," he said.
