Despite securing 30 out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra during the recent Lok Sabha elections, internal discord within the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance has surfaced, particularly involving Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.
On Saturday, 61-year-old Patole did not attend a scheduled meeting of MVA leaders in Mumbai, citing prior commitments as the reason for his absence. This absence was notably during a critical media interaction meant to display unity among the alliance partners.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, Patole expressed that the meeting was arranged abruptly. “I conveyed to them that due to scheduled commitments, I am unable to attend. On our behalf, we asked senior Congress leaders Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat to attend it,” Patole informed.
A senior Congress leader, speaking anonymously to Hindustan Times, revealed that while the MVA meeting and press conference were planned post-Lok Sabha results, the date was only finalized on Friday when Thorat met with NCP chief Sharad Pawar at his Mumbai residence. Patole had informed them that he had prior engagements in his constituency that couldn’t be rescheduled last minute.
On the day of the meeting, Patole was in Sakoli, his assembly constituency, where he announced that the Congress had initiated preparations for the state assembly elections across all 288 seats. This declaration came just hours before a joint media session with Pawar, Thackeray, Chavan, and Thorat, where it was declared that the MVA allies would contest the assembly elections together.
The rift between the leaders became more evident on June 11 when Patole revealed his inability to reach Thackeray to discuss strategies for the ongoing legislative council elections for four seats. Following this, Thackeray contacted senior Congress leader Arif Naseem Khan instead of Patole. When questioned about Patole’s absence from the MVA meeting, Thackeray downplayed the issue, stating, “That issue has been resolved. We are supporting Congress for the Konkan Graduates constituency and Congress and NCP are supporting us on the other three seats.”
However, underlying tensions between Patole and Thackeray are palpable. The Hindustan Times report, citing Congress insiders, indicated that Thackeray’s apparent disregard for Patole has been a source of frustration for the state Congress chief. Additionally, Patole’s assertion that Congress, having won 13 Lok Sabha seats, is the ‘big brother’ in the MVA, did not sit well with Thackeray.