BJP calls opposition MVA ‘a divided house‘ after Maharashtra Congress chief Patole skips Sambhajinagar rally

The absence Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) joint rally in Sambhajinagar has invited jibes from ruling BJP-Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, which on Monday dubbed the opposition MVA a “divided house” that was striving to project “a false unity”.

The absence Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) joint rally in Sambhajinagar has invited jibes from ruling BJP-Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, which on Monday dubbed the opposition MVA a “divided house” that was striving to project “a false unity”.

BJP State president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that Mr. Patole’s absence during the MVA’s ‘Vajramooth’ (‘iron-fist’) rally was clearly a sign that things were not well within the tripartite MVA coalition of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Congress.

“It was a strange rally which saw the three partners taking confused stances on issues. While NCP leader Ajit Pawar called for a Bharat Ratna to be given to [Hindutva ideologue] V.D. Savarkar, the Congressmen were clearly embarrassed by the remarks,” Mr. Bawankule claimed.

The Shiv Sena’s Shinde faction MLA Sanjay Shirsat said that the MVA experiment was “completely floundering” and that people were allegedly seen leaving the venue even before Mr. Thackeray had completed his speech.  

Mr. Patole’s absence sparked a buzz that all was not well within the MVA — a suggestion dismissed by MVA leaders as baseless.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said that Mr. Patole was “unwell” and said that the Congress was well-represented by senior leaders like Ashok Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat.

“He [Mr. Patole] was ready to come to the rally, but he was extremely tired and was resting at his residence in Mumbai. But it’s not as if the Congress was not represented at the rally…the party senior leaders like Ashok Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat were present,” Mr. Raut said.