Is Uddhav's Sena cozying up to BJP as Shinde plays guessing game?

NEW DELHI: The assembly election in Maharashtra is done and dusted. However, there is still never a dull moment in state politics with alliance dynamics and power equations between the many factions on both sides of the divide always at play. The latest in the 'Maha potboiler' is speculations around Uddhav Thackeray warming up to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) amid reports of rival Eknath Shinde's dissatisfaction within the Mahayuti.
Uddhav's Sena, a former ally of the BJP who broke away from the alliance in 2014, is now showering praises on Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The latest in the list is Tuesday's editorial in Saamana, the Uddhav Sena mouthpiece. The editorial praised CM Fadnavis for "taking away the powers” of ministers to appoint personal secretaries and officers on special duty (OSDs).
The Saamana publication also took a dig at deputy CM Shinde alleging that fixers and brokers were fostered and had a free run during his tenure as CM earlier.
The editorial claimed that Shinde had also 'complained' to the top BJP leadership against Fadnavis and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his fight against corruption.

Earlier in January, Saamana had also praised Fadnavis for his visit to the Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district. The recent heaps of praises for Fadnavis indicates a fresh approach by Uddhav Sena who had earlier blamed him for splitting Sena by backing Shinde.
CM Fadnavis is getting all this applause from the Uddhav faction amid reports rumbling in Mahauti camp and Shinde's discontentment which is said to have started when he was asked to take a demotion and given deputy CM post. Shinde's recent trips to his village, started soon after the

Maharashtra assembly election

results as the Mahayuti parties tried to chalk out government formation plans, kept raising eyebrows. The BJP, having the biggest winning share, of course, had the upper hand and Fadnavis was appointed the CM.
While Shinde has rejected the reports of a rift with the BJP, his actions since the government formation speak otherwise.
The appointment of NCP leader Aditi Tatkare and BJP leader Girish Mahajan as guardian ministers of Raigad and Nashik districts, respectively, brought tensions to the fore, with the Shiv Sena leaders expressing unhappiness. Shinde's Sena ministers Bharat Gogawale and Dadaji Bhuse were reportedly neglected for these posts and Shinde had left for his village in Daregaon.
Both deputy CMs, Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, also set up project monitoring cells to track progress of projects in the districts of which they are guardian ministers and those of departments handled by ministers of their respective parties. As the CM already has his "war room" for monitoring key projects, this move was seen as both the BJP allies asserting themselves.
Despite an existing CM relief fund for patient assistance in Maharashtra, Shinde also recently established a separate medical aid cell. He has consistently avoided participating in several meetings called by Fadnavis, notably skipping the Nashik Regional Development Authority discussion regarding the 2027 Kumbh Mela preparations. Instead, he conducted his own meeting in Nashik, which BJP minister Girish Mahajan did not attend.
Following Fadnavis's review of the industries department, led by Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant, Shinde organised a separate assessment. Speculation about deteriorating relations intensified when the home department, under Fadnavis, reduced or withdrew police protection for 20 Shiv Sena MLAs, who had received security following the Sena division in 2022.
Meanwhile, Uddhav's Sena while upping its attack on Shinde, has gone soft on BJP.
In the

2024 assembly elections

, the Mahayuti coalition of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP won 235 of the 288 seats, with BJP securing 132 alone. Shinde's Sena secured 57 seats and Ajit Pawar's NCP got 41 seats.
On the other hand, it was a disappointing show by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which was hoping for a grand comeback. Uddhav's Sena got 20 seats, Congress 16 and Sharad Pawar's NCP secured 10 seats.

The BJP, being the single largest party in Maharashtra, is not dependent on Shinde's party to keep the government afloat. With just 14 seats short, BJP is so close to majority that getting the numbers in its favour may not be difficult for the saffron party. In the numbers game, it actually does not matter to the BJP if it allies with Shinde, Uddhav, or for that matter, no one at all.
It will be interesting to see if these moves by Uddhav’s Sena is a genuine case for Fadnavis or if the party is preparing grounds to explore a future tie-up with its former ally.