Being an opportunist is not a crime. But grabbing opportunity whilst neglecting ideology is definitely condemnable. Such situations are not rare in Indian politics. India has witnessed many incidents of burying ideology for the sake of power. It is more than a month now since election results in Maharashtra were declared. But so far there is no government is in place. The State has been put under President’s Rule. There is no immediate sign of the impasse coming to end. Rather, Maharashtra is all set to remain under President’s Rule till fresh elections are held. It is easy to put the blame on the fractured verdict in the elections. But close scrutiny will reveal that Maharashtra verdict was not fractured at all. Rather it is a decisive mandate. The ruling coalition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena party got simple majority in the house. These two parties fought the elections together. It had common agenda. Yet, even after getting the majority the alliance has so far failed to form the government.
The bone of contention is the Chief Minister’s chair. BJP wants to put its own leader in that chair, while Shiv Sena is demanding a rotational system. In other words, the regional party wants to have a taste of power midway into the term. BJP claims such an arrangement is not possible as the issue was not discussed when the alliance was formed. On the other hand, Shiv Sena is adamant on the demand and even dragged the name of BJP president and Union Home Minister in this debate. But as per records, there was no talk of rotational Chief Minister while the alliance was formed and seats were shared. Occasionally, Shiv Sena chief talked about a leader from Sena becoming the Chief Minister, but to many it was merely an election rhetoric. There can be no denying that till the results were declared, the regional outfit was willing to play the role of junior partner. But the situation changed when BJP failed to secure majority of its own. The situation provoked the Shiv Sena party to flex its muscles and demand equal importance in the government. As BJP was not interested in surrendering before the strong arm tactics of Sena, it started looking for allies in groups other than the saffron brigade. In its overenthusiasm to form the government, it even went close to its traditional foes such as the Congress and the nationalist Congress Party (NCP). But the Shiv Sena group never kept in mind that its numbers in the State Assembly swelled with the help of BJP supporters. As the parties fought elections jointly the votes of both the parties were transferred to each other. What will the Shiv Sena party’s reply be to those BJP supporters who voted for Sena candidates in their constituencies? If it is not a betrayal of people’s trust then what else?
There is still time for BJP-Sena alliance to respect the mandate. The parties, which have been together for years should erase the differences through discussions. Both parties should keep in mind that the people of Maharashtra have voted for the combination of the two parties, and not for a single party; so instead of indulging in political one-upmanship, both parties should now look into avenues to provide a stable government in Maharashtra. Otherwise, people will definitely teach the parties a lesson.
