'You have scope to come to our side': Devendra Fadnavis's swipe at Uddhav or message to Shide?

NEW DELHI: When Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday extended a "come-to-this-side invite" to Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray - was he only taking potshots at an ally-turned-rival or was there a message for one of his allies also?"Uddhav ji, there is no scope (for a change in government) till 2029.

We do not have the scope to come to the other (opposition's) side. You have the scope to come here, and it can be thought about.

We can think about it differently," Fadnavis said at a farewell function in the legislative council for leader of opposition Ambadas Danve. Interestingly, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, who had revolted against Uddhav to take control of the Shiv Sena, was seated next to Fadnavis as he made this "offer." Fadnavis and Uddhav ruled Maharashtra together for five years before a bitter parting of ways in 2019. After the 2019 assembly election results, Uddhav dumped the BJP and joined hands with the Congress and NCP to become the chief minister of Maharashtra. However, Fadnavis had his revenge two and a half years later when Eknath Shinde revolted against Uddhav and split the Shiv Sena. Since then, Fadnavis has been with the Shinde Sena.

Eknath Shinde, who served as chief minister for over two years after the 2022 coup, was reluctant to hand over the reins back to Fadnavis in 2024 after their alliance got an overwhelming mandate from the people of the state.While Shinde eventually relented and became deputy to Fadnavis, there have been reports of unease in their ties since then. Of late, these rumours have once again gained ground as the parties gear up for the crucial BMC elections.

The BMC has been ruled for long by the undivided Shiv Sena and so Eknath Shinde would be reluctant to cede too much of space to the BJP as he gears up to oust Uddhav Thackeray led Sena from the all-important civic body. Another friction point in the ruling Mahayuti has been the recent incidents involving some Shinde Sena MLAs who have been in the news for wrong reasons. Fadnavis not just openly castigated the Sena MLAs but also allowed the state police to take action against them.Uddhav Sena leaders have been quick to drive a wedge between the allies by alleging that Eknath Shinde was encouraging his MLAs so as to malign the BJP.The coming together of the Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, after 20 years is also an interesting twist in state politics. Uddhav seems to have signalled that he has moved beyond his Maha Vikas Aghadi experiment for now and is all set to try his luck with cousin Raj Thackeray in the BMC elections.

The development has the potential to end the opposition experiment as the Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP have not been happy about this reunion.The BJP got a historic mandate in Maharashtra in 2024 assembly elections. The saffron party won 132 seats in the 288-member assembly. Fadnavis knows that he is just 12 short of the majority mark in the assembly and hence can afford to flex his muscles to keep the allies, especially the Shinde Sena, in check. Fadnavis also knows that in the long term the BJP faces a stronger political rival in Eknath Shinde than Uddhav Thackeray.

So, is the wily Fadnavis only taking a dig at Uddhav or is he signalling that he may be open to realignments. After all, there are no permanent friends or foes in politics.