‘Attempts are being made to destabilize the governments in Maharashtra and Rajasthan’.
New Delhi: The Assembly election results of five states may affect the politics of some other states, including Maharashtra. There are reports of state BJP leaders allegedly making attempts to destabilise the governments in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
But the BJP high command’s focus is on five states, including Bengal, which are going to polls. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is said to be fully cautious against any such move. At the same time, Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP are also said to be quite alert to any move by the political opponents to destabilise the MVA government.
According to sources, Congress’ interim chief Sonia Gandhi has assured Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray of her full support to the government.
Congress is relying on Gehlot’s political prowess as far as his government’s stability factor in Rajasthan is concerned.
The BJP is also not in a hurry to push its political agenda in view of the coordination among the allies of the UPA. Informed sources, however, believe that the political stability of these states will depend on the results of five state elections. BJP will gain more power if it wins in Assam and West Bengal, which will then have its bearing on the politics of other states, including Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Congress will be in more trouble if it gets defeated in Kerala.
The BJP central leadership is not relying much on former Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis. The high command had to cut a sorry figure when Fadnavis took oath as CM hurriedly in 2019 and could not get the majority later. In fact, the BJP is now active after the entire controversy resulting from the alleged Rs 100 crore extortion case involving Sachin Vaze.
Fadnavis demanded resignation of Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Ramdas Athawale went to the extent of demanding removal of Deshmukh right away. But most of the central BJP leaders did not make any substantial statement on the development. The high command also did not show much interest in what happened in Maharashtra.
After statements from certain state Congress leaders, the Uddhav Thackeray government did appear to be under crisis at one point of time. But Pawar managed everything and handled the situation. Pawar sent his daughter Supriya Sule to Sonia Gandhi, following which the latter assured the former of her full support. This gave Uddhav Thackeray a great deal of relief. So, there is no risk to the MVA government as of now.
But the state BJP leaders are definitely trying to put the MVA government on the mat on the basis of Param Bir Singh’s statement. But the high command continues to be focused on the Bengal election now.
Meanwhile, questions are also being raised whether Param Bir Singh, whose letter-bomb created a political storm in Maharashtra, will join politics after retirement. The Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP have decided to remain united in view of the prevailing political situation in the country. The BJP leadership is aware that the MVA government cannot be destabilised, with its allies firmly with each other.
If Devendra Fadnavis is leading the BJP attack in Maharashtra, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is on the job in Rajasthan. He has got an FIR registered in Delhi in the phone tapping case, following which politics in Rajasthan has heated up. Rajasthan PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra has alleged that attempts to topple the state government are underway. He said that the BJP won’t succeed in its move. He said that instead of getting his voice sample examined, Gajendra Singh is getting the case registered in the phone tapping scandal.
To recall, an audio tape had surfaced when the Gehlot government was in trouble last year. The Congress was claiming that the tape contained the voice of Shekhawat.
Now, Shekhawat has got a case registered in the phone-tapping scandal. It is said that he has done so only to destabilise the Rajasthan government.
Political observers believe that it will not be easy for the BJP to destabilise the Gehlot government, as the saffron party is a divided house in Rajasthan. So, much will depend on the results in the five states.