No, it has nothing to do with Hindutva or the Marathi manoos.
The current dispensation at New Delhi and Mumbai is quite reminiscent of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, with two very similar traits- the appointment of loyalists in states, and an overall disdain for dissent. While Mr Fadnavis is undoubtedly the brightest among the appointments made to the states so far, the opposition space is fast disappearing in Maharashtra despite the former’s perceived inclusiveness. As the BJP continues its winning blitzkrieg election after election, who is left then with the guts to take on the role of a meaningful opposition in the face of such frenzy? The NCP and Congress seem to be approaching the end of the product life cycle curve, with little hope of revival. Who then, but the original Frankenstein’s monster: the Shiv Sena.
While Matoshree is the plug behind the BJP’s power here, it is also the most bitter critic of the latter. Being kingmakers, they are immune from the CBI and the troll army, for now. As a consequence of this double play, they have lost both their ideological clout, and their traditional right-wing vote bank (the Sena lost everything but the corporations of Mumbai and Thane to the BJP this year when they contested independently). Be that as it may, Uddhav Thackeray has decided to continue with this; let's call it strategy. And Maharashtra cannot be more thankful.
Here are three examples where the Shiv Sena has been the hero and behaved as a much needed opposition.
GST/Local bodies
GST: a landmark move after a decade and half of dilly-dallying at the Centre. Except, it put the Mumbai civic body at the risk of losing considerable octroi revenue. There was no legal safeguard against this. Until the Shiv Sena agitated, that is. Now we have the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax (compensation to the Local Authorities) Act 2017.
Farm loan waiver
Truth be told, Mr Fadnavis holds the higher moral ground here, since he has continued his principled stand of not granting the Rs. 30,000 crore farm waiver, a move that has kept the state out of a possible bankruptcy. Here, the Shiv Sena questioned the BJP’s hypocrisy by pointing out the Centre letting go of ex-Kingfisher Group boss Vijay Mallya, a defaulter to the tune of around Rs 7000 crore. How can the BJP ruled government afford pardoning a Rs. 7000 crore single defaulter while it says it cannot afford relieving lakhs of farmers’ families of just over four times that sum? A pertinent question that captured the attention it deserved.
Demonetisation
When the Central government unleashed demonetisation, every economist and sociologist worth their salt harshly criticized the move. The Shiv Sena too called it ‘a second Jallianwala Bagh’. Not that the BJP cared for their opinion, but it was enough for the world to take note that not everyone on the Hindutva bandwagon is in harmony with the whims of the PM.
All in all, as ludicrous as it may sound, we can say without doubt that the Shiv Sena is the only political party playing the role of a credible opposition in Maharashtra today. What happens after the assembly elections in 2019 remains to be seen.
