In Maharashtra, amid widening Mahayuti rifts, BJP ‘upset’ with Ajit NCP, ‘wary’ of Shinde Sena

The growing tension in the Maharashtra BJP against its alliance partners – the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the NCP, led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar – after the debacle in the recent Lok Sabha polls has raised questions on the projected unity of the ruling Mahayuti.

Whether it is the BJP’s core committee meeting or the article in RSS mouthpiece Organiser, the discontents in the coalition, especially involving the NCP, are getting more pronounced. In the case of the Shinde Sena, the BJP leaders are expressing their “disappointment” in hushed tones.

Among the major factors for the BJP’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls in the state, which was identified by the party’s core committee meeting held in Delhi Tuesday, was the lack of coordination between the alliance partners at the grassroots level.

Notwithstanding the rifts within the Mahayuti, the question confronting the BJP, both at the Centre and in the state, is whether it can afford to get rid of either one or both of its allies ahead of the Assembly polls slated for October this year.

Officially, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “The BJP’s alliance with the Shiv Sena and NCP is a reality in the state government. It will remain for the 2024 Assembly polls.” He added that the alliance would learn from its “mistakes” in the Lok Sabha polls and collectively address its shortcomings. Similar sentiments were echoed by Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

Yet, the second-rung leaders of all three parties are engaged in a full-fledged war of words, blaming each other for the defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. The Mahayuti alliance won just 17 of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha seats as compared to the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) 30 seats. The MVA