Alliance discord, 8,000 farmers protesting: Can Devendra Fadnavis hold the line? | Political Pulse News

A senior BJP minister alleged that attempts to unsettle Fadnavis had become a recurring feature of the coalition. “The Sena’s renewed aggression against the BJP, under the guise of the audio clip controversy or the Opposition’s attacks, was part of the same template,” the minister said.

CM Devendra Fadnavis interacts with farmers in Marathwada. Express photo *** Local Caption *** CM Devendra Fadnavis interacts with farmers in Marathwada. (Express photo)

As part of the damage-control exercise, both parties have begun stepping back from their aggressive positions. Shinde has directed his leaders, ministers and elected representatives to stop attacking the BJP. The directive came shortly after the BJP conveyed its displeasure to the CM over the Sena’s aggressive stance following the emergence of the audio clip.

The latest fissure in the alliance came on Sunday after a NCP delegation, led by Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar, met Fadnavis to stake claim to the Finance portfolio. The CM had taken over the department after the death of former Finance Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in January.

CM’s damage control

Fadnavis also announced a Special Investigation Team (SIT) inquiry and a forensic examination of the audio clip. The move was in keeping with the responsibility of a CM to establish the facts. The crucial question now is whether the investigation will reach its logical conclusion and whether its findings will be made public.

Fadnavis committing to an investigation is an immediate way to defuse the controversy. At the same time, he has raised a question of his own: why did the audio clip surface two-and-a-half years later?

The question has also unsettled sections of the state BJP. Party strategists point out that despite a series of protests over NEET, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and issues raised by Shiv Sena (UBT), the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the Congress and the NCP (SP), there had been no comparable law-and-order controversy.

The party also cites the praise reportedly extended by Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijit Dipke to the Mumbai Police for allowing protests without harassing activists. It contrasts the police response in Mumbai with the use of lathis, pellet guns and tear gas against student protesters in the national capital.

Attack on Tiger puts law and order in focus

However, Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, found himself under attack from both the Opposition and alliance partners following a firing incident involving actor Tiger Shroff.

The Mumbai Police failed to prevent the incident in the heart of the city. Although several accused were arrested within 48 hours, the episode dented the image of the police force and the Home department.

Following the incident, the Opposition has also accused the Centre of not cracking the whip on gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently lodged in the Sabarmati jail in Gujarat. “Bishnoi and (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah are one,” Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said.

The BJP’s response has been to point to the law-and-order situation under the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban alleged that the police had been misused during that period. “During the MVA tenure, the police were themselves used to plant a bomb outside an industrialist’s residence in Mumbai. There were also allegations of the police being misused to collect funds at the direction of senior leaders,” he said.

Earlier this month, Pradeep Purnekar, a leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), was shot dead in neighbouring Thane. The killing of an Opposition leader in Shinde’s stronghold, followed by the reported investigation into the role of Shiv Sena leader Meenakshi Shinde’s husband, has put the Mahayuti on the defensive.

Ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, NCP leader Baba Siddique was shot dead outside his son and NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique’s office.

‘Drought aid not enough’

However, the looming drought poses a far more serious challenge for the state.

In a candid admission, Fadnavis acknowledged that Maharashtra could face a drought worse than the one in 1972. The administration has initiated preparatory measures, declaring 304 of the state’s 358 talukas drought-affected and seeking Rs 35,000 crore in financial assistance from the Centre.

The announcement of drought-hit talukas too had led to an intra-Mahayuti face-off with several NCP and Sena ministers alleging that their constituencies had been left out. The Opposition too slammed the government for “lack of transparency” in declaring the list.

Farmer leader and former MP Raju Shetti, however, has warned that immediate financial assistance alone will not address the agrarian distress. “Farmers facing financial distress because of crop losses and water scarcity will need sustained support. A one-time payment, whether through crop-loan relief or Rs 5,000 in assistance, is not a solution. Even that assistance has not reached them,” he said.

Rejecting the Rs 5,000 aid, over 8,000 farmers, led by the All India Kisan Sabha, are staging an indefinite protest – maha mukkam satyagraha – in Ahilyanagar district and have warned that they would proceed towards Fadnavis’s Mumbai house if their demands are not met.