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Saamna praises Fadnavis, Pawars to bury hatchet; what’s going on in Maharashtra?


A month after Maharashtra’s electrified political climate, tensions seem to be easing, with visible signs of a thaw. After days of calls for reconciliation rumblings in the NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s mouthpiece Saamana praised Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, offering a warm “Congratulations, Deva Bhau” for trying to eliminate Naxalites in the state.

Is something changing in Maharashtra politics? This question gains traction, especially in light of the toughly contested Maharashtra Assembly elections last November, and its results. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar’s NCP, and the Congress was soundly defeated by the BJP-led Mahayuti, led by Devendra Fadnavis.

In the polls, the BJP-led Mahayuti delivered a blow to the MVA. The Mahayuti secured 235 seats, capturing nearly 50% of the vote share in the 288-member house, while the MVA was left with just 50 seats.

The opposition camp is visibly taking a softer tone. Although the Shiv Sena (UBT) refuted claims of “warming up to the BJP,” what developments really signal a potential shift? Let’s have a closer look.

SS(UBT) MOUTHPIECE SAAMANA PRAISES DEVENDRA FADNAVIS, RAUT BACKS IT

The Shiv Sena (UBT)’s mouthpiece, Saamana, in the editorial titled “Congratulations, Deva Bhau”, praised Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his efforts in eliminating Naxalite activities in Maharashtra’s western district of Gadchiroli, bordering Chhattisgarh.

“Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for several development projects in Gadchiroli, heralding a new era of progress and this step would positively impact not just Gadchiroli but the entire Maharashtra. We congratulate him and hope his initiatives will transform the lives of the tribals,” said the Saamana piece.

“If Deva bhau [Devendra Fadnavis] wants to give the Naxalite district Gadchiroli a new identity of steel city, then it should be welcomed, and he truly deserves praise,” it added.

Days ago, during his first visit to the Naxal-affected Gadchiroli, Fadnavis stated that Naxalism would soon be eradicated from Maharashtra, as 11 Naxalites surrendered before him.

“CM Fadnavis started work in the new year, and for this, he chose Gadchiroli. While many ministers were stuck in the trap of getting lucrative portfolios and guardian ministership of a specific district, CM Fadnavis reached Gadchiroli and started a new era of development in the Naxal-Naxal-affected district,” the Saamana stated.

In an apparent dig at deputy CM Eknath Shinde, the Saamana editorial stated, “Earlier guardian ministers of Gadchiroli toured the district many times. It was alleged that these visits were serving the interests of the mining lobby”.

Before Fadnavis, who took over as the Gadchiroli guardian minister in 2022, Eknath Shinde served the district.

Hours later, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, who is also the executive editor of Saamana, said, “Although we are in the Opposition, the praise and welcome of Fadnavis is because he has taken control of the district.”

Raut hailed the Shiv Sena (UBT) as a big-hearted party. “We have appreciated good things done even by our rivals,” Raut told news agency ANI.

The praise comes weeks after Uddhav Thackeray met Devendra Fadnavis on December 17, during the ongoing winter session of the Maharashtra Assembly.

The praise for Fadnavis was then backed by Baramati MP of Sharad Pawar’s NCP, Supriya Sule.

“There is only one person working with strength; the rest are nowhere to be seen. Only Devendra Ji is in mission mode. It’s good, and I wish him all the best. It is a positive development. RR Patil [former Maharashtra Deputy CM and guardian minister of Gadchiroli] used to tour the area and do commendable work. It feels good that today, Fadnavis has carried forward Patil’s legacy,” said Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar.

Sule’s remarks about Fadnavis, her party’s opponent, couldn’t have been unforeseen.

HOPES OF NCP RECONCILIATION GAIN TRACTION IN NCP

Sule’s remark followed a call to end ‘differences in the Pawar family’ by Ashatai, the mother of deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Ashatai, calling for a reunion of her son and her brother-in-law Sharad Pawar, said both should “come together again“.

“I prayed that all the grievances within the Pawar family should end, and that Ajit and Sharad Pawar come together again. I hope my prayers will be granted,” Ajit Pawar’s mother Ashatai said on Wednesday after offering prayers at Vitthal-Rukmini temple in Pandharpur.

Meanwhile, rumours of a possible reconciliation also gained traction after Ajit Pawar made an unscheduled visit to Sharad Pawar’s residence in Delhi on December 12 to wish him on his birthday. The visit came over a month after Sharad Pawar’s NCP faced its worst defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Ajit Pawar’s NCP scripted a turnaround after the Lok Sabha poll debacle to win 41 seats in Vidhan Sabha. In contrast, Sharad Pawar’s NCP managed to win just 10 seats.

The undivided NCP was split by Ajit Pawar in 2023 after he rebelled and joined hands with the Shiv Sena-BJP Mahayuti government.

Ashatai’s remarks led to growing clamours from NCP leaders for a reunion. Adding to the intrigue, Praful Patel, MP of Ajit Pawar’s NCP, said he would be happy if the Pawar family united, saying Sharad Pawar was “like God to us”.

“Sharad Pawar has always been like a father to us. Although we have taken a different political stand, we have always respected Sharad Pawar greatly,” Patel said. “If the Pawar family reunites, we would be very happy… I consider myself a part of the Pawar family”.

Another NCP leader and Maharashtra minister, Narhari Zirwal, said a reunion would only benefit the party and its workers. “We feel distressed [due to the split in the NCP], as we hold Sharad Pawar in great respect,” PTI quoted Zirwal as saying.

Could this unexpected praise and calls for reunion be the dawn of a political reset in Maharashtra, or is it just a calm? Unpredictable, as Maharashtra’s politics is said to be, the new posturing of the opposition parties are surely being carefully monitored.

Published By:

Sushim Mukul

Published On:

Jan 4, 2025

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