Ahead of the Maharashtra Vidhansabha Elections, accusations and counter-accusations are rolling like never before. All the major political parties involved in the elections like the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, and the Mahayuti alliance led by the BJP are constantly targeting each other with less than just 15 days left for the voting date. In a novel counter-accusation that is surprising and shocking, both at a time, NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar slammed MNS leader Raj Thackeray for blaming him for introducing caste-based politics in the state. Pawar challenged Thackeray saying that the latter should show a single example portraying NCP’s involvement in playing caste-based politics in Maharashtra.
In a press meet on 2nd November, Pawar blatantly cornered the MNS leader and his statements saying that the latter has done nothing in his life more than issuing controversial statements and it would be stupid to pay attention to such statements. “Show me an example of my involvement in caste politics in Maharashtra. Those who have not done anything in their life just make statements, criticize and comment. What should we comment on his statement? The people of Maharashtra are wise. So he was given only one seat in the state,” Pawar said.
This was after Raj Thackeray in August this year stated that Pawar started ‘caste politics’ in Maharashtra. He claimed that it was Sharad Pawar who started the practice of caste discrimination in the state. “After the NCP was founded in 1999, even saints got divided based on caste,” Thackeray alleged.
Thackeray further criticized Sharad Pawar sharply, stating, “In the last five years, politics in Maharashtra has sunk to new lows, with caste-based politics worsening the situation. It was Sharad Pawar who initiated this trend in Maharashtra, as well as the practice of political defections in 1978,” referencing Pawar’s split from Congress to form a government in Maharashtra under the Purogami Lokshahi Aghadi (PLA) alliance. Recalling the incident of Congress MLAs breaking away in the 1970s, Thackeray argued that Pawar should not play the victim now that many of his own MLAs have joined his nephew Ajit. Pawar eventually rubbished the allegations and slammed MNS’s Thackeray saying that the latter had hardly done anything in his life.
It is important to note that MNS’s Raj Thackeray has been commenting against Pawar’s caste politics for years now. He also had targeted Pawar during the Lok Sabha elections. In May, extending his full support to the Mahayuti alliance, Raj Thackeray said that caste-based politics in Maharashtra began after NCP was formed in 1999. However, he said that Ajit Pawar never played caste-based politics.
“Caste-based politics began in the state after the formation of NCP in 1999. It has increased thereon but citizens should not fall into the trap of politicians during elections. Ajit Pawar despite being with Sharad Pawar never indulged in caste-based politics,” he was quoted as saying. He also opined that politics played out in the state and the country had stooped to lower standards.
Interestingly, the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray who is now in alliance with Sharad Pawar held a similar opinion in the past. In the month of February 2018, Shiv Sena when it was undivided had opined that the NCP chief had always ‘supported’ caste politics and was inconsistent in his political views. “Pawar is respected in Maharashtra as well as at the national level, but he was never consistent with the stands he took in politics. He has always been a supporter of caste-based politics,” the Sena had said in an editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.
This is probably after Pawar, during a one-of-its-kind interview with MNS chief Raj Thackeray in Pune that year, spoke against caste-based reservation. Pawar had said, “This (reservation) is a sensitive issue. Dalits and Adivasis should be given reservations, there is no problem with it…People of other castes are holding rallies for reservation. I clearly believe that reservation should not be given based on caste, but to people who are financially backward.”
The Sena highlighted that when the Maratha community began holding silent marches across the state to press for their demands, including reservations in jobs and education, Pawar had shown his support, stating that they should be granted reservation. “Pawar is respected for his vast political experience. In 2014, he was the first to announce support to the BJP for government formation in Maharashtra. But today, defeating the BJP-led dispensation is his sole aim. At least now, he should remain firm over this stand,” it said.
The political landscape in Maharashtra is largely seen as a contest between the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is currently aligned with the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena under the Mahayuti banner, while the opposition MVA comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), the NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar, and the Congress. The outgoing assembly term was marked by political upheaval, with Maharashtra witnessing three different chief ministers and splits within both the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), leading to new alliances in both the ruling coalition and the opposition.
The upcoming election marks the first assembly polls in the state since the major party divisions. Mint highlights seven key figures to watch in the election, including BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, and Shiv Sena Shinde faction head Eknath Shinde.
Sharad Pawar, 84 is widely regarded as Maharashtra’s most influential political leader. Often called the Machiavelli of Maharashtra politics, he is known for his ability to use any strategy to retain power. In 2019, Pawar was seen as the mastermind behind the Shiv Sena’s decision to break its decades-old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, leading to the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), a coalition that brought together ideologically opposed parties, the Shiv Sena and the Congress. This alliance made Uddhav Thackeray the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, though his tenure was very brief.
The 2024 election is a high-stakes battle for Pawar, the veteran former Chief Minister and Union Minister. His coalition government was overthrown in June 2022 after the Shiv Sena split, and a year later, his nephew Ajit Pawar rebelled, causing a division within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Ajit took with him the majority of the party’s MLAs and MPs, leaving Sharad Pawar in a challenging position. Since then, the 84-year-old NCP supremo has been working tirelessly to keep the MVA alliance united.
The 2024 Lok Sabha Election meanwhile proved as a morale booster for Pawar and MVA. The NCP (SP) won eight of the ten seats it contested. Ajit Pawar’s group however could only win one. The NCP is vying for 87 seats in the November 20th assembly elections. MVA’s performance now will be determined by how the NCP (SP) fights the election.
A general assembly election is scheduled to be held in Maharashtra on 20th November to elect the 288 members of the 15th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the counting and the results of which will be declared on 23rd November.
