Uddhav slams BJP for dishonouring pre-poll agreement on CM post

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on July 9 said had the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) honoured the “decision” taken before the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election on sharing of the chief ministerial post, the BJP workers would not have been required to carry “carpets” of other parties now.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on July 9 said had the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) honoured the “decision” taken before the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election on sharing of the chief ministerial post, the BJP workers would not have been required to carry “carpets” of other parties now.

Mr. Thackeray began a two-day tour of the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra to engage with party workers in view of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections due next year. Both the BJP and the Congress are considered strong in the region.

Speaking in Yavatmal town, the former Chief Minister said that the sharing of the chief ministerial post was “decided” between him and Union Home Minister Amit Shah before the 2019 Assembly election.

“Before the 2019 polls, Mr. Shah and I decided that the Shiv Sena and the BJP will have its Chief Minister for two-and-a-half years each. Today, the BJP and Shiv Sena Chief Ministers would have completed their tenure. If that had been done, the old BJP workers would have not been required to pick up the carpets of other parties,” he said.

After the 2019 Assembly election, Mr. Thackeray snapped ties with long-term ally BJP and joined hands with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party(NCP). The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition was formed and Mr. Thackeray became the Chief Minister. However, in June last, Shiv Sena leader and then Minister Eknath Shinde led a vertical split in the party and toppled the MVA government. With the support of the BJP, Mr. Shinde became the Chief Minister and recently completed one year in office.

Mr. Thackeray also expressed curiosity over how the BJP would manage their new coalition with the recent entrants from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction. “I am waiting to see how the BJP handles its new riff-raff,” he said.

On July 2, Mr. Ajit Pawar with a group of MLAs revolted against his uncle and party supremo Sharad Pawar and took oath as Deputy Chief Minister. Eight other NCP MLAs also took oath as Cabinet Ministers.