BJP's Masterstroke: Shinde Is Chief Minister
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-06-30 15:41:05
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
The BJP dropped a bombshell in Maharashtra. In a masterstroke that is likely to have a major effect on the control of Shiv Sena, the party appointed Eknath Shinde, the man whose revolt and ability to rally other Shiv Sena MLAs around him helped the BJP oust the MVA government, as the new chief minister of the BJP-rebel Shiv Sena alliance government that has assumed office in the state. After saying this evening that he will not be part of the new government, Devendra Fadnavis took oath as his deputy. He said that he was following the orders of the party high command. No ministers took oath as the BJP and the Shinde group are still working out the modalities of cabinet formation.
Shinde's appointment as chief minister will work as magic for the shiv sainiks who will now be convinced that what Shinde had said about Uddhav Thackeray diluting the Hindutva agenda by allying with the NCP and the Congress was true. They will also understand that Shinde has not played into BJP's hands but has fought for allying with a party that holds similar views about Hindutva and has assumed the role of the senior partner in the new alliance. This will give him a huge handle to gain control of Shiv Sena and the trust of the cadre. This is necessary as the local elections, including for BMC, are scheduled for September and the alliance will want to dislodge the Uddhav Thackeray-controlled Shiv Sena from these bodies.
The BJP is now likely to take charge of the important portfolios in the cabinet to reflect the upper hand it has in the alliance due to more MLAs and also to keep the flock happy. Devendra Fadnavis is not one to easily let go of the chief minister's chair. The high command must have had a tough time convincing him to cede ground now for enhanced benefits in the future. The BJP was stung when Uddhav Thackeray had broken the three decades old alliance between the two parties in 2019. It now wants a Shiv Sena minus the Thackeray family to be its alliance partner in governing the richest and second most important state (in terms of number of Lok Sabha seats) in the country.
