In the latest turn of the maze that is Maharashtra politics, a Shiv Sena (UBT)-linked newspaper has praised Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for a “good initiative” in the Gadchiroli district of the state.
In an editorial titled “Abhinandan Devabhau (Congratulations Devendra)”, Saamna, which is the mouthpiece of the Sena (UBT), said: “If the current CM (Fadnavis) wants to give Gadchiroli a new identity of a steel city instead of its reputation as a Naxalite district, it surely deserves applause. The CM’s good initiative should be praised.”
It went on to say that “if development and progress replace Naxalism”, it is a “welcome step”.
The praise for Fadnavis by the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece follows a meeting party chief Uddhav Thackeray held with the CM during the recent Winter Session of the Maharashtra Assembly. Deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde, the chief of the rival Sena faction, were not present at the meeting.
This lowering of temperature from the Sena (UBT) side has raised eyebrows as Uddhav has been bitter towards the BJP for bringing down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by him and for “engineering” the split in the Sena. Uddhav’s credibility as the real leader of the Sena, which was created by his father Bal Thackeray, further took a hit after the recent Assembly elections, where the Shinde Sena finished comprehensively ahead of it.
Arguing that too much should not be read into the Saamna editorial, including its reference to Fadnavis with the affectionate suffix of bhau, Saamna editor and Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said it was only praise for “the good work” Fadnavis had done in Gadchiroli, of which he is the Guardian Minister as well. A guardian minister is a Cabinet-level rank in Maharashtra for overseeing the development of a specific district in the state.
“The CM has done a good job. So, he deserves praise. If Naxalites surrender and opt for the Constitutional path, we welcome that… The earlier Guardian Minister (a reference to Eknath Shinde) could have done that… Instead, he appointed his agents and collected money. This increased Naxalism,” Raut said, pointing to the fact that they had worked with Fadnavis earlier. “That relationship goes on.”
The BJP also insisted that the Saamna praise did not mean much more than appreciation for Fadnavis’s work. Saying he was glad that Saamna had “finally” taken “note of the good work of Devendra Fadnavis”, BJP state chief Chandrakant Bawankule said: “ It is a case of better late than never… Fadnavis had taken some major good decisions in the past as well. Yet, Saamna ignored them.”
A senior BJP minister requesting anonymity said, “At this moment, these are just gestures. Fadnavis and Thackeray’s meeting and handshake thereafter or praise in Saamna are feel-good gestures.”
Sena (UBT) leaders said that, for its part, the party sends out a message that it is open and amenable. A party source talked of “massive unrest within the Shiv Sena (UBT) cadre” and a demand to “shift to core Hindutva agenda” after the dismal Assembly poll performance. Showing such a gesture to the BJP is a bid to ameliorate this section of the party, the source said.
Incidentally, Saamna’s praise for Fadnavis follows talk of reconciliation by both the Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar factions of the NCP. On Wednesday, after Ajit Pawar’s mother Asha Pawar spoke of “unity of the Pawar family” as her New Year wish, other leaders on both sides said this would be more than welcome. Senior NCP leader and key Ajit Pawar ally Praful Patel even called Sharad Pawar the party’s “revered leader”.
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