This is the first rebellion since Uddhav took over the reins of Shiv Sena.
Highlight
- Shinde’s rebellion with Shiv Sena MLAs is the most significant in the outfit’s 56-year-old
- The current rebellion started taking shape after midnight on Monday after the Legislative Council election results
- The first major setback for Shiv Sena was in 1991 when Chhagan Bhujbal decided to leave the party.
Maharashtra political crisis: Despite being a party of cadres committed with unshakable allegiance to the leadership of the day, the Shiv Sena has been vulnerable to rebellions in its ranks and has seen rebellions by prominent figures on four occasions, three of which are under the watch of its charismatic founder. Bal Thackeray has become the latest leader to be included in the Eknath Shinde list.
Shinde’s rebellion, a cabinet minister who moved in with a group of Shiv Sena MLAs, is the most significant in the organisation’s 56-year-old history as it threatened to topple the party-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, while other revolts took place when when she was not in power in the state.
The current rebellion, which started taking shape after midnight on Monday following the Legislative Council election results, presents a major challenge to Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray as the last three rebellions took place when his father Bal Thackeray was still were around.
The first major setback for the Shiv Sena came in 1991 when Chhagan Bhujbal, the party’s OBC face, who is also credited with expanding the organization’s base in rural Maharashtra, decided to quit.
Bhujbal had cited “non-appreciation” from the party leadership as the reason for leaving the party. Despite Bhujbal helping the Shiv Sena to win a large number of seats in parts of Maharashtra, Bal Thackeray appointed Manohar Joshi as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
In the subsequent winter session in Nagpur, Bhujbal quit the party along with 18 Shiv Sena MLAs and announced his support to the Congress, which was ruling the state at the time. But, 12 rebel MLAs returned to Shiv Sena the same day.
Bhujbal and the other rebel MLAs were recognized as a separate group by the then Speaker of the Assembly and did not face any action.
“It was an audacious move as Shiv Sena workers were known for their aggressive approach (towards dissent).
They also attacked Chhagan Bhujbal’s official residence in Mumbai, which is usually guarded by the state police force,” a senior political journalist told PTI.
Bhujbal, however, lost to the then Shiv Sena leader Bala Nandgaonkar from Mumbai in the 1995 assembly elections, and later shifted to Nashik district.
Veteran politicians joined the NCP when Sharad Pawar formed a party after leaving the Congress in 1999. Bhujbal (74) is currently a minister and cabinet associate of Shinde in the Shiv Sena -led MVA government.
In 2005, Shiv Sena faced another challenge when former Chief Minister Narayan Rane left the party and joined the Congress. Rane, who later quit the Congress, is currently a Rajya Sabha member of the BJP and also a Union minister.
The next setback for Shiv Sena came in 2006 when Uddhav Thackeray’s cousin Raj Thackeray decided to quit the party and form his own political outfit – Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Raj Thackeray had then said that his fight was not with the Shiv Sena leadership, but with others around the party leadership and not letting others in.
In 2009, the MNS had won 13 seats in the elections to the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Its number in Mumbai was one more than that of Shiv Sena.
The Shiv Sena is currently facing another rebellion by a section of its MLAs led by senior state minister Eknath Shinde, a four-time MLA from Thane district and a popular figure in the organisation.
Political journalist Prakash Akolkar, who has written a book on the party, said, “The Shiv Sena leadership is taking some of its leaders lightly. Such an attitude has always backfired, but the party is not ready to change its stand.
“Times have changed now and most of the MLAs come to the party with a lot of expectations. If those expectations are not properly addressed, then such rebellion is bound to happen,” he said.
Shiv Sena currently has 55 MLAs, NCP 53 and Congress 44. All three constitute the MVA. The opposition BJP has 106 seats in the assembly.
Shinde needs support from 37 MLAs to avoid disqualification under the anti -defection law. The rebel leader has claimed that 46 MLAs of Shiv Sena are with him.
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