MVA govt. would have remained in power had Patole not quit as Speaker, says Sanjay Raut

It gave the BJP a chance to topple the government, says the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader

The tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray might have remained in place had not current State Congress chief Nana Patole resigned abruptly as Speaker, said Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday.

“Had Mr. Patole remained as Speaker, then the picture today would have been different. But because he vacated the post of Speaker suddenly, it gave the Bharatiya Janata Party a chance to topple the government… This plot to overthrow the government [MVA] had been hatched before,” said Mr. Raut.

Mr. Patole had resigned from the Speaker’s post in February 2021 — barely a year after the formation of the MVA — in order to take over as the Maharashtra Congress president. However, his exit not only disturbed the working within the MVA parties, but also created a vacuum which was never filled till the existence of the MVA government.

The MVA was toppled in June 2022 after rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde’s coup which saw the formation of a new government with the BJP supporting the Shinde faction.

Stating that the Speaker’s post was very vital during a political crisis, Mr. Raut said this was especially if a coalition government like the MVA (comprising the Nationalist Congress Party, the Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena) was in place.

“But the manner in which he [Mr. Patole] vacated the post gave our adversaries [the BJP] a chance to depose the government. They were aided by the Governor [B.S. Koshyari] who did not give a chance to hold fresh elections,” Mr. Raut said.

The Sena (UBT) leader’s remarks against his ally, the Congress came a day after Mr. Patole had hit out at Mr. Raut for ‘meddling’ in the Congress’ internal affairs.