Sanjay Raut pitches Uddhav as CM face for Maharashtra polls, MVA partners say will decide later

Sanjay Raut pitches Uddhav as CM face for Maharashtra polls, MVA partners say will decide later

Mumbai: With the Maharashtra assembly elections just a few months away, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has already pitched former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s name for the top post in the state, if the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) forms the government.

The alliance’s other key partners – Congress and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) – have, however, dismissed the idea and said the CM face would be decided later.

Speaking to the media Thursday morning in New Delhi, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MP Sanjay Raut said: “Going into the assembly elections without a CM face will be dangerous. Maharashtra has seen the work of the MVA under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray. Even in the Lok Sabha, the MVA got votes because of Thackeray’s face and of course on the three parties’ strength. So people will not accept going into the election without any CM face.”

His statement apparently ruffled feathers back in Mumbai, where the Maharashtra assembly session started Thursday.

“I don’t want to talk more about this now. This topic needs discussion and we will solve it amicably,” said Balasaheb Thorat, senior Congress leader, speaking outside the assembly to the media.

The NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) also did not take Raut’s statement lightly and, in fact, advised the MVA to think of the larger battle ahead.

Speaking to the media outside the assembly, Rohit Pawar, MLA and grand-nephew of party chief Sharad Pawar, said: “When the MVA was formed, nobody knew what lay ahead. So Sharad Pawar will talk to Raut, Uddhav Thackeray and Congress leaders and decide how to take this forward. This battle is not about the CM face but about the pride of the state and for the people of the state.”

Maharashtra face of our alliance, says Uddhav

The MVA had fought this year’s Lok Sabha elections under the INDIA national-level bloc. Of Maharashtra’s 48 seats, the combine won 30 and got support from one independent.

Taking forward this success, the MVA partners held a joint press conference on 15 June and declared they would fight the upcoming state election together.

However, now, even before the start of seat-sharing talks, Raut has pointed to Uddhav as the CM face.

Speaking to the media Thursday, Uddhav himself shied away from answering the question about him as the CM face.

“First, let the (ruling) Mahayuti (alliance) decide who their face of failure is. They (Mahayuti partners) have been pointing fingers at each other. We the MVA will declare our CM face at the right time. As it is, Maharashtra is the face of our alliance,” he said.

When the MVA was formed in 2019 after the assembly elections, Uddhav held the reins of the state for two-and-a-half years before his government was toppled by Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and his MLAs.

Later, in July 2023, Ajit Pawar broke away from the undivided NCP and joined hands with Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP and the Eknath Shinde government.

Mahayuti is the name given to the alliance of the BJP, chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)