Maharashtra's Shinde-Fadnavis govt to collapse in ‘next 15-20 days’: Sanjay Raut

The Maharashtra government of the BJP and chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is going to collapse in the ‘next 15-20 days,’ Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut predicted on Sunday, with his statement coming at a time when Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a Sena (UBT) ally, has been talking about the NCP staking claim to the chief minister’s post.

Also Read | NCP ready to stake claim to Maharashtra CM post any time: Ajit Pawar

The BJP-Sena government would have collapsed in February itself, but for a delay in the Supreme Court’s judgment in the ‘Sena vs Sena’ issue, said Raut.

“Death warrant of the Shinde-Fadnavis government has been issued, only the date is to be announced. I already said the Shinde government would collapse in February, but due to the delay in the Supreme Court judgment, the lifeline of this government was increased. It will collapse in the next 15-20 days,” the Rajya Sabha MP remarked, according to news agency ANI.

Raut’s statement comes a day after he said Ajit Pawar was ‘capable of becoming a chief minister.’

What has Ajit Pawar been up to?

A former 4-time deputy CM of the state, Pawar’s recent moves have left everyone in Maharashtra’s political circles guessing. Recently, there were rumours that he and a group of MLAs loyal to him would align with the BJP. Though the 63-year-old politician held a press conference and remarked that he would work for the NCP ‘till I am alive,’ not everybody was convinced.

Maha Vikas Aghadi

The NCP constitutes one-third of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), with Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress being the other two partners in the tripartite alliance. The MVA was formed in November 2019, when a then-united Shiv Sena and its erstwhile ally BJP went their separate ways despite retaining power in the assembly election in October of that year. Subsequently, the MVA was formed, and governed Maharashtra with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as chief minister, and Ajit Pawar as his deputy.

Shiv Sena splits..

In June last year, however, the MVA government collapsed, and Sena got split into two factions due to a rebellion led by Eknath Shinde, who then ascended to the CM’s chair, with the former CM from the BJP, Devendra Fadnavis, as his deputy. The Election Commission recognises the Shinde faction as the ‘real’ Shiv Sena, while the Uddhav faction is called the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).