A day after the results of the Maharashtra Assembly election returned the BJP-Sena mahayuti with a reduced number, Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana took on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
“Chief Minister had called himself a pehelwan (wrestler), but his strength fell short this time,” said an editorial in the paper which heaped praise on Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar.
“There is a lesson to be learnt from this defeat (in the Satara Lok Sabha seat, where the NCP won). Fadnavis said he was a powerful wrestler but Sharad Pawar proved more powerful,” Saamna said.
The paper’s headline on Friday edition had the word Mahajanadesh with the word ‘Maha’ struck out, indicating a reduced mandate. Also, above the masthead, the newspaper wrote that the Sena holds the keys to power now.
The editorial said: “The Chief Minister said only lotuses will come out of EVMs but out of 164, 63 seats did not have lotuses.. This is not mahajanadesh , that will have to be accepted. It takes a big heart to accept people’s verdict… we have accepted it,” the editorial said.
“ The NCP has taken the biggest leap in the State. This mandate shows that being arrogant due to power is not good… The CM had called himself a strong ‘pehelwan’ but it must be admitted that his strength lacked and ‘ustaad’ Sharad Pawar won the prize,” the paper said.
The editorial also mentioned that the people of Maharashtra have rejected those who changed hats before the election such as Udayanraje Bhosale, for whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi had campaigned in Satara.
Stating that the saffron alliance had to introspect over the reduced mandate, the editorial admitted that the people of Maharashtra have rejected the politics of defection and poaching.
The Sena organ said the mandate has rejected the BJP’s thinking that elections can be swept by engineering defections and splitting opposition parties.
People have also taught a lesson to turncoats, it said, referring to large-scale desertions from the NCP- Congress to the ruling camp.
Referring to the shock bypoll defeat of Udayanraje Bhosale, who defected to the BJP after winning the Satara Lok Sabha seat on NCP ticket in May, the Sena said “the Satara gaddi (seat of power) has respect because of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj”.
Meanwhile, newly elected MLAs Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena and Rohit Pawar of the NCP are said to have congratulated each other. Speculation is rife that the Sena may choose to stake claim to power with the Congress-NCP if it does not get the CM’s post.
After the Sena-BJP managed to scrape together a majority on Thursday, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had reminded the BJP of the 50-50 power sharing promise between the two parties. On Friday morning hoardings across Mumbai congratulated Aaditya Thackeray on his win and referred to him as ‘future CM.’
Saamana editor Sanjay Raut also shared a cartoon on Twitter where a tiger the symbol the Sena, is seen sniffing a lotus flower (BJP). Many Sena MLAs had gone to meet Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree on Friday and expressed their wish to see a Sena CM in the State now.
Jogeshwari MLA Ravindra Waikar, among those at Matoshree, said, “No party can work as much for the State as Shiv Sena, then why should not we have our own CM? A decision will be taken by Uddhavji but I think, if joining hands with Congress-NCP can get us the CM post then why not do it? BJP has troubled us a lot in the past five years.”
When asked about joining hands with Congress-NCP, senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, “Uddhavji made it very clear in the press conference on Thursday.” Uddhav Thackeray had said that he will not accept anything wrong for power. Despite that, with these developments, the Sena seems to be building pressure on BJP to cede the CM post.
