Leaders make efforts to strengthen MVA as differences come to fore

On 1 May, the MVA rally would be held in Mumbai

At the time when disagreement among the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra has come to the fore, massive efforts have been launched by the top leadership to bridge the gap and unitedly take on the BJP-Shiv Sena saffron alliance.

Top leaders including the Congress leadership, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray have told their leaders to be on the same page on crucial issues concerning India and Maharashtra.

Days after Thackeray met Pawar and held deliberations, senior Congress leader K C Venugopal, the AICC in-charge of Organisation is expected to meet the Shiv Sena (UBT) head in Mumbai.

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The rift had surfaced wide open when state Congress President Nana Patole skipped the first in the series of the Vajramuth (thunderbolt) series of rallies of the MVA which was held in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar on April 2.

The next rally would be held on April 14 in Nagpur, the headquarters of the Vidarbha region.

On 1 May, the MVA rally would be held in the state capital of Mumbai coinciding with the Maharashtra Diwas festivities. On May 14, a rally was planned in Pune, the headquarters of Western Maharashtra, followed by May 28 in Kolhapur and then on June 3 in Nashik, the hub of North Maharashtra.

“The MVA leadership wants the leaders to put up a united front in these rallies as it is a sort of show of strength post the June 2022 development involving the split within the Shiv Sena and toppling of the tri-party government,” a senior MVA leader said.

“The parties in the MVA need to work together and take it ahead,” Pawar said.

“Pawar is a senior leader. The meeting between Pawar and Thackeray was very positive. I meet Congress leaders in Delhi regularly…in next few days Venugopal will be meeting Thackeray,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut.

One of the major issues is the repeated statements of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against Veer Savarkar, the revolutionary freedom fighter and Hindutva icon - because of which the Thackeray-group has come under criticism from the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. The NCP and a large section of Congress leaders are uncomfortable with anti-Veer Savarkar statements.

On Tuesday, Pawar, in an interview, was critical of Thackeray for not taking allies into consideration before stepping down as Chief Minister.

On the other hand, NCP and Pawar’s stand on JPC vis a vis Adani Group-Hindenburg Report issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational qualifications and Electronic Voting Machines, too have come to the fore.