Politics of convenience in Maharashtra as leaders switch sides within alliance

'Ayaram Gayaram' culture grips the run-up to assembly elections, with candidates jumping parties to get tickets

On October 27, the Shiv Sena led by Maharahtra chief minister Eknath Shinde announced that former Lok Sabha MP Rajendra Gavit would contest the assembly elections from Palghar. But Gavit was with the Shiv Sena’s senior ally, the BJP, and joined Shinde for a nomination.

As Maharashtra heads for an election intensely polarised between two fronts—the ruling Mahayuti, comprising Shinde’s Shiv Sena, the BJP and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Gavit is the latest in the list of candidates who have switched sides from one ally to another for a nomination. This has ushered in a new type of defection politics.

In Andheri (East), Shinde’s Sena has similarly nominated BJP leader Murji Patel, who will clash with Rujuta Latke of MVA constituent Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). In Sindhudurg’s Kudal, Nilesh Rane, the son of BJP MP and former Union minister Narayan Rane, is a Shiv Sena nominee against the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Vaibhav Naik. In neighbouring Kankavali, Nilesh’s younger brother Nitesh is trying for a hat-trick as a BJP candidate against the Sena (UBT)’s Sandesh Parkar.

Sanjana Jadhav, the daughter of senior BJP leader and former Union minister Raosaheb Danve Patil is the Shiv Sena’s nominee from Kannad in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad). But her brother Santosh is defending his Bhokardan seat in Jalna as a BJP MLA.

Incidentally, this is not the first time that Gavit has switched sides between allies BJP and Shiv Sena. In 2019, the then undivided Shiv Sena wrested the Palghar Lok Sabha seat from the BJP as part of the seat-sharing alliance. Gavit, who was the BJP’s MP from Palghar, joined the Sena and was elected to the Lok Sabha for a second term.

After the June 2022 split in the party, when Shinde and his MLAs walked out on chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Gavit threw in his lot with Shinde. The BJP wrested the Palghar seat from Shinde and replaced Gavit with its candidate Dr Hemant Savra. Soon after, Gavit defected to the BJP from the Shiv Sena. Incidentally, in 2018, Gavit had contested the Palghar seat as a BJP nominee against the Shiv Sena candidate Shrinivas Vanga, the son of BJP MP Chintaman Vanga, whose death had led to the by-election. Gavit was a former Congress minister of state and had joined the BJP. Now, he has replaced Vanga as the Shiv Sena nominee.

The exigencies of alliance politics have seen members of a family go their own political ways. In Navi Mumbai’s Airoli, former minister Ganesh Naik is contesting as a BJP nominee while in neighboring Belapur, his son Sandeep has switched to the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and is in the ring against BJP MLA Manda Mhatre. In Nashik’s Yevla, NCP veteran and minister Chhagan Bhujbal is contesting against Manikrao Shinde of the NCP (SCP) while in Nandgaon next door, his nephew Pankaj Bhujbal is fighting a grudge battle against the Shiv Sena’s MLA Suhas Kande as an Independent.

Though Bhujbal Senior has disowned his nephew in public, it is speculated that the rebellion may have his blessings. In 2019, Kande defeated Bhujbal’s son Pankaj. Since then, the Bhujbals have been at odds with Kande, even when Chhagan Bhujbal was part of the undivided NCP and a minister in the MVA regime.

Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar has secured a renomination from Colaba in Mumbai, but his in-laws, the Naik Nimbalkars from the royal family of Phaltan in Satara, are with the NCP (SCP). While Narwekar’s father-in-law and former legislative council chairperson Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar has stayed put in the NCP for now, his cousins Sanjeevraje and Raghunathraje, who manage the local politics in Phaltan, are with the rival faction.

The assembly elections have also seen members of a family being pitted against each other. The prestigious Baramati seat is witnessing a riveting fight between Ajit Pawar and his nephew Yugendra of the NCP (SCP). Yugendra is the son of Ajit’s younger brother Shrinivas aka Bapu. In Gadchiroli’s Aheri, Dharmaraobaba Atram of the NCP is pitted against his daughter Bhagyashri Atram Halgekar of the NCP (SCP).

In Buldhana’s Sindkhed Raja, the NCP (SCP) MLA and former minister Dr Rajendra Shingne is defending his seat against the NCP’s Gayatri Shingne, who is his niece. Incidentally, Shingne was with the NCP led by Ajit Pawar and Gayatri was speculated to get a nomination from the rival NCP (SCP) led by Sharad Pawar. However, Shingne joined Pawar Senior, and this led to a dramatic reversal of political loyalties with Gayatri crossing over to the NCP.