Tackling the enemy within

The biggest threat to the BJPrsquos credibility in Maharashtra today is not the Opposition but its own allyFor years Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership worked hard to build a national image of discipline clean governance and forwardlooking politics But in Maharashtra today that image is not under attack from the Congress Shiv Sena UBT or the Sharad Pawarled NCP The biggest threat is from its ally mdash the Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena And all this is happening in full public viewLocal body elections covering thousands of seats will be held on December 2 These polls are normally a lowkey affair and rarely dominate the statersquos political narrative Voters expect the Opposition to unleash accusations expose governance failures and question corruption But this time Maharashtra has witnessed something unusual The fiercest allegations against the BJP are coming not from the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA but from its own ruling regime partnerShinde himself added to the tension with his remark referencing the Ramayan and citing the example of Ravan that ldquoarrogance leads to downfallrdquo widely seen as a comment aimed at the BJP which later was clarified by his team as an attack meant for rivals and not for the ally A banner showing Shinde alongside Sonia Gandhi in the Umarga polls further deepened the confusion hinting at odd locallevel equationsIn the digital age even small signals like these quickly explode into statewide narrativesIf Shindersquos comments stung his teamrsquos attacks struck even deeper and pushed the confrontation even further Thus giving an impression that the Shinde Sena camp is leaving no stone unturned to openly take a swipe at BJP especially hitting where it hurts the most mdash the clean image of the party Shinde camp minister Sanjay Shirsat mocked BJP MP Ashok Chavan asking whether he ldquoeats bhakri or currency notesrdquo Many political observers saw this ldquoAdarshrdquo jab as a direct hit on the BJPrsquos claim of clean politicsThen came an even sharper blow Shinde Sena MLA Nilesh Rane brother of BJP minister Nitesh Rane released a video showing a bag allegedly containing R20 lakh cash in a BJP workerrsquos house Nilesh claimed the money was meant to influence the Malvan polls He questioned how ordinary people could ever contest elections if such money power was involved and hinted that the ldquomessrdquo began after state BJP chief Ravindra Chavanrsquos visit to MalvanThe political discomfort for the BJP was obvious as these accusations were coming from someone whose entire family is deeply tied to the BJPA visibly disturbed Chavan responded cautiously ldquoFor now keeping the alliance intact till local elections is important I will respond to these allegations after December 2 voting dayrdquo Chavan said The state BJP chiefrsquos statement clearly spelled ldquoall is not wellrdquo within the saffron alliance partnersThis is not the first time friction has surfaced between the BJP and the Shindeled Sena Tensions have long simmered beneath the surface But never has the divide been this wide this loud and in the public domainThe ldquocold warrdquo between the alliance partners clearly shows that Mahayuti leaders may claim unity in the state but in actuality are divided on the groundAs internal assaults are far fiercer than those from Opposition parties it is bringing a lot of embarrassment to the BJP This matters because the fight is not shaping public opinion against the entire alliance The attacks are hurting the BJPrsquos ldquoclean imagerdquo a fact that is hard to ignore for the central and state BJP leadershipIt isnrsquot just the Shiv Sena Shinde faction that deserves blame The BJP too has contributed to escalating tensions and creating this mess Several BJP leaders have been provoking Shinde and his camp Take the example of the current state BJP chief who went ahead and inducted Sena workers and leaders from areas considered Shindersquos stronghold including the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Shindersquos son Dr Shrikant ShindeIn Maharashtra politics such moves are not forgotten They trigger insecurities and retaliatory strikes Eventually Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde were forced to agree to an unwritten ldquonopoachingrdquo pact just to prevent the alliance from collapsing before polling dayNo matter what the outcome of the local elections may be the question now is whether this public airing of grievances will cost the Mahayuti more than it gains While the alliance looks united on paper voters are seeing cracks in real time with leaders bickering candidates undermining each other and old rivalries spilling into the openWith everyone speculating about the future of the Shinde SenandashBJP partnership Eknath Shinde stepped in on Friday to settle the dust He insisted this alliance isnrsquot some convenient and lastminute political ldquojugadrdquoAccording to him it was built decades ago by stalwart leaders like Balasaheb Thackeray Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani on shared ideology and not for powerShinde confidently stated that the foundation of the SenaBJP bond is strong and he believes the saffron alliance is not going anywhereBut if things do not go the way Shinde expects it is certain that there will be further escalation and tension within the alliance And both sides will have to face the consequencesA split now would only weaken Mahayutirsquos chances in the bigger fights waiting in 2029 both in the Assembly and Lok Sabha electionsSanjeev Shivadekar is political editor midday He tweets SanjeevShivadekSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper