Why did Shiv Sena-BJP relations fall apart in 2014?

Mumbai: Why did the alliance between the then undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and BJP break off in the run up to the 2014 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections?

Maharashtra Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has presented a perspective on it now only to be dismissed by Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut, the Man Friday of Thackeray.

In fact, in 2014, both opposite alliances - the BJP-Shiv Sena saffron alliance and the Congress-NCP Democratic Front broke - and they all contested against each other for the 288-member Assembly.

After the results the BJP fell short of numbers -- but formed the government with Fadnavis as CM only to get outside support by undivided Sharad Pawar-led NCP, however, within months, Shiv Sena joined the government. But Shiv Sena acted like an opposition within the government and continued to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his close aide Amit Shah. The post of Deputy CM was, however, not offered to Shiv Sena.

Fadnavis now has given a new perspective on the entire episode. “The Shiv Sena continued to insist on 151 seats as against the BJP’s decision to give 147 seats,” Fadnavis said.

Fadnavis was speaking at an event to felicitate Sikkim Governor Om Prakash Mathur, who was then the BJP’s in-charge of Maharashtra.

"We gave the Shiv Sena an ultimatum to contest 147 seats, and we decided to contest 127 seats, even as we believed would win more than 200 seats. The Shiv Sena would have the CM post, while the BJP would have its Deputy CM," he said.

However, hitting out at Thackeray’s son Aaditya, he said," We were told that the 'yuvaraj' had announced to contest 151 seats, and they were not willing to back down on that number.”

Fadnavis said that the BJP high command kept the loop. "We spoke with Shah and told him this was not the way to treat us. He spoke to Modi... Shah, Mathur and I were confident that we could put up a strong fight in the 2014 assembly elections," he said.

In his reaction, Raut, however, defended Fadnavis and blamed BJP’s high command.

“Discussions were stretched for 72 hours over every seat. Om Mathur was (BJP's) Maharashtra in-charge at the time. I will admit honestly that Fadnavis was in favour of maintaining the alliance with the Shiv Sena. He wanted the alliance, but it broke because the party's (BJP) senior leaders wanted it to happen,” he said.

Meanwhile, NCP (SP) MLC Eknath Khadse, who was the then state BJP president, agreed to it. “What Fadnavis said has some truth. Shiv Sena refused to agree…they wanted more seats…the issue could not be settled for three to four seats,” he said, however, added that the decision was not his and the party took a collective call on the issue.

After the results, the Shiv Sena preferred to be in opposition and Eknath Shinde was made the Leader of the Opposition.

In February 2019, Shah came to Mumbai and the two parties decided to contest the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls together. While the BJP swept the national polls, after the results of Assembly polls, Thackeray insisted for a rotational CM chair referring to the meeting with Shah, which was flatly rejected by the BJP.

After that, Uddhav joined hands with Congress and NCP and formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi to become the CM.

But in June 2022, Shinde toppled the Thackeray dispensation with the help of BJP - and became the head of Mahayuti government with Fadnavis as Deputy CM and a year later in July 2023, Ajit Pawar rebelled against Sharad Pawar and joined the NDA to become Deputy CM.

Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar now control Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), respectively, while Shinde and Ajit Pawar command Shiv Sena and NCP, respectively.