BJP's shifting stance on Fadnavis as CM: Rethink or a tactical move?

Days after union home minister Amit Shah indicated that Devendra Fadnavis could be the party’s pick for the CM’s job if Mahayuti returns to power in Maharashtra, the BJP changed the tune and said the decision would be decided after the election by all the allies.

Party insiders say the change of tune was due to two reasons. Firstly, it did not want to irk allies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. The other reason was the campaign by the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), especially Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP), targeting Fadnavis.

Even before Shah’s remarks, Fadnavis was made the face of the BJP’s campaign, prominent in the party’s campaign advertisements. Immediately after the news of Shah’s remarks, there was a flurry of memes on social media targeting Fadnavis. Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil has been training his guns at Fadnavis for quite some time and has been appealing to the Maratha community to defeat Fadnavis’s people. In this background, the party did not want to upset its calculations in Marathwada (the region where the Maratha agitation was strong) and some other regions. Hence, the party clarified that the decision would be taken later.

Significantly, the advertisements issued by the MVA on Friday had an unusual reference of Anaji Datto or Anajipant, a Brahmin who was chief secretary in Shivaji Maharaj’s court, who some accused of creating a wedge between the King and his son Sambhaji Maharaj. “First Anaji looted the Swarajya (word used to describe the Maratha kingdom) while the second betrayed Maharashtra,” said the advertisement. Fadnavis, also a Brahmin, is often described as Anaji by social media handles that are sympathetic to the Maratha agitation.

Camping in Mumbai

For the past three months, Bhupender Yadav, union minister for environment and BJP national general secretary, has been mostly camping in Mumbai. Yadav is in charge of the Maharashtra elections for the party. He rented an apartment and has been quietly working on the party’s strategy for the elections. Every day, he reaches BJP’s office at Nariman Point early in the morning, holds meetings through the day and leaves late in the evening. Yadav has a good study of caste calculations and has drafted the party’s strategy accordingly. In the past three months, he has held over 200 meetings with various caste and community groups. “The only travel I have been doing in Mumbai is between my apartment and party office,” he quips. If BJP wins in Maharashtra, a lot of credit will go to this low-profile and soft-spoken man.

No consultant, no problem

Of the three MVA parties, NCP (SP) is the one with good communication with voters. The party’s campaign on the ground and on social media is simple and direct, yet effective. On Friday, the party placed an advertisement in Marathi newspapers in the form of a signed letter by Sharad Pawar, summing up why the people should vote out the ruling party, which became a talking point in political circles. Pawar is the only leader in the opposition coalition who has been setting the narrative against his rivals (mostly Ajit Pawar) and knows how to create a buzz in his campaign (Remember the rain-soaked speech in 2019?). Interestingly, the NCP (SP) is the only party that has not hired any high-profile political consultants to work out their strategy.

Uddhav Thackeray’s rudraksh

These days, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has been wearing a string of rudraksh on his right wrist, reminiscent of his father, late Balasaheb Thackeray, who used to hold a rudraksh in his hand. When asked about it, he quipped that he is wearing it as a legacy of his dynasty, in a sarcastic reference to ‘dynasty politics’. Earlier he used to sport a saffron thread on his wrist that he called “Shiv Bandhan” but had to remove it during the treatment when he was under hospitalisation. Will the rudraksh on his wrist change his political fortune? Only time will tell.

All in the family

It is probably for the first time that two brothers are contesting assembly election from neighbouring constituencies. Industries minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant is contesting from Ratnagiri while his brother Kiran is trying his luck from adjoining Rajapur constituency. In neighbouring Sindhudurg district, former chief minister Narayan Rane’s elder son Nilesh is the Shiv Sena candidate from Kudal while younger son Nitesh is seeking re-election as BJP MLA from adjoining Kankavli. Two influential families trying to take political control of two neighbouring districts is now a hot topic of discussion in coastal Konkan.