'Maha' Raja of 2022: Did ‘Sena’ Rule Maharashtra Politics Through the Year? Recap of Top 5 Topics

2022 was an eventful year for Maharashtra politics.

It started with the weariness, fear and eventual relief over Covid. As the situation started to get back to normal, the state was hit by an unexpected political storm – the rift within the Shiv Sena, the key party which was part of the ruling alliance, Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The dramatic twists and turns ended in the resignation of then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and the “rebel" Eknath Shinde becoming the chief minister in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Thus began the fight over the “real Sena", name, symbol, et al.

This issue remained at the core of most controversies in Maharashtra over 2022. Finding itself as the Opposition suddenly and not wanting to lose Mumbai civic body too, the Thackeray-led Sena and other alliance partners – Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress – continued their attack on the ruling government over a range of issues from the big-ticket projects granted to Gujarat to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s comments on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The polls for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute and Rahul Gandhi’s Savarkar remarks, too, dominated the headlines and the winter session.

A look at top five issues of Maharashtra politics in 2022:

1. Sena vs Sena

Topping the list is the Shiv Sena versus Shiv Sena battle. The trigger for the fight is believed to be the June 20 setback for the MVA in the Legislative Council polls. The opposition BJP had won all five seats it contested. The Thackeray government was then pushed into the danger zone as the BJP secured 134 votes in the 288-member Assembly, where the majority mark is 145. The Sena-NCP-Congress support eroded to 151 from 169. In an early morning shocker for the Thackerays, Shinde, along with 11 MLAs, flew to Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat. Around 4am on June 22, Shinde and the rebel MLAs, with the number around 35, boarded a chartered flight to Guwahati in BJP-governed Assam. What followed was a number game of Sena MLAs switching over to the Shinde camp. There were numerous requests and offers from the Thackeray side, but the number in the Shinde camp only kept swelling to 39.

Another battle began legally too. The Shiv Sena filed a petition with the Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, seeking to disqualify 12 MLAs supporting Shinde’s rebellion. Claiming the support of 37 Sena MLAs, Shinde termed the Sena’s move “illegal" and said whips can be issued only for voting in the Assembly and not for attending meetings. Shinde moved the Supreme Court, challenging the disqualification notices issued to his 16 MLAs and against the appointment of Ajay Choudhari as Shiv Sena Legislature Party leader. The SC granted relief to rebel Sena MLAs, saying no decision should be taken on their disqualification till July 11. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a prevention of money laundering case pertaining to the Rs 1,034 crore Patra chawl land scam and was arrested on August 1.

Then came the biggest blow for the Thackeray-led faction — Koshyari invited Shinde to form the government. Thackeray challenged the move and the floor test in the SC. However, on June 29, the top court gave a go-ahead to the floor test, asking Thackeray to prove his majority support on the floor of the House on June 30. After the apex court’s order, Thackeray announced his resignation as the Chief Minister and Eknath Shinde was later sworn in as the Chief Minister, with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as his Deputy.

Shinde also claimed that his faction was the “real Sena", thus starting another battle with Uddhav Thackeray on-ground and in the Supreme Court. Thackeray then challenged the Shinde group’s plea to the poll panel, claiming they are the ‘real Shiv Sena’ and hence should be granted the party symbol. With the decision pending ahead of the BMC Andheri (East) bypoll, the Election Commission of India (ECI) granted the name ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ (Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena) to Eknath Shinde, with a shield and two swords as the symbol. The Uddhav Thackeray-led camp was given the name ‘Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ and ‘burning torch’ (mashaal) as the symbol.

Meanwhile, the Andheri (East) prestige fight ended as a one-side victory for Thackeray faction’s Rutuja Latke, as the BJP withdrew its candidate on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s “request". Raut was released on bail after 100 days on November 9.

With the BMC polls, a tough “prestige fight" for Thackeray, just months away, the Sena versus Sena battle has translated into Uddhav Thackeray vs BJP and ruling alliance vs Opposition, every issue acting as a way to show why they were better than the ruling alliance.

While it will only intensify in the days to come, the fight for the “real Sena" continues…

2. Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Row

The decades-old fight over the Maharashtra-Karnataka border villages took a violent turn over the past fortnight, as vehicles from both the states were attacked and damaged in Belgaum and Pune.

While Karnataka said Maharashtra’s plea was invalid since the reorganisation has not been reviewed in the case of any state, the latter — which is now headed by BJP-backed Eknath Shinde — insisted that Sena founder Bal Thackeray was “always a supporter of the state’s demand to make Belgaum (Belagavi) a part of Maharashtra".

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on December 6 chaired a meeting with Maharashtra and Karnataka CMs Eknath Shinde and Basavaraj Bommai, respectively, over the border row simmering between the two states since the 1950s, asking them to wait till the SC decision. The Supreme Court hearing on the issue is pending.

The row intensified on December 19 with leaders from the NCP, Congress and Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) being denied entry into Belagavi in Karnataka, that is at the centre of the border dispute. As the 10-day session of the Karnataka Legislature commenced in Belagavi amid tight security, MMES activist Suraj Kanbarkar said some members from opposition parties in Maharashtra proceeding towards Belagavi district were detained by the Maharashtra police. The session will be the last one of the current Assembly as elections in the southern state are due early next year. MES-led ‘Mahamelava’ convention that takes place on the inaugural day of Karnataka assembly’s winter session every year, however, was cancelled after police refused to give permission. Section 144 has also been imposed in the zone.

On December 21, Sanjay Raut stoked another controversy saying: “Like China has entered, we will enter (Karnataka). We don’t need anyone’s permission. We want to solve it through discussion but Karnataka CM is igniting fire. There is a weak govt in Maharashtra & is not taking any stand on it."

Meanwhile, the Karnataka legislative assembly on December 22 unanimously passed a resolution on the border row with Maharashtra, resolving to comprehensively protect the state’s interests and condemning the recent inflammatory statements made by Maharashtra leaders against Karnataka’s chief minister.

3. Guv Koshyari

From the time Uddhav Thackeray took charge as the CM to his resignation, Governor Koshyari has remained the “villain" in Sena’s story, creating what the party and MVA called “hurdles" every step of the way. However, even though Thackeray is now out of power, Koshyari’s statements kept reigniting their fight.

In July, Koshyari landed in a controversy, saying there will be no money left in Mumbai and it will cease to be the financial capital of the country if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are removed from the city. His statement drew backlash from leaders across political parties.

Koshyari recently said that Shivaji Maharaj was a “hero of the past", while BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi claimed the Maratha warrior king sought mercy from the Mughal empire. Their remarks caused state-wide protests.

In a show of strength, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray group), NCP, Congress, and other parties took out a massive Halla Bol morcha in Mumbai on Saturday against the Eknath Shinde-BJP alliance government, demanding Koshyari’s removal. Raut even asked Shinde if he has the “self-respect" he had cited while rebelling against Uddhav Thackeray.

4. The Projects and BMC polls

The flight of key projects like Vedanta-Foxconn to Gujarat put the Maharashtra government in the dock.

Ahead of Gujarat polls, Vedanta-Foxconn’s ₹1.54 lakh crore semiconductor plant, earlier proposed to come up in Pune, moved to the neighbouring state in September. In October, the consortium of European aviation firm Airbus and the Tata group selected Vadodara for its ₹22,000-crore project to manufacture military aircraft.

The opposition has been alleging that the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena are allowing industrial investment shift to Gujarat.

Shinde recently said that industries do not go out overnight. “A lot of planning goes into it (bringing projects). Recently, a mega project had come to Maharashtra and many more are in the pipeline," Shinde said.

The issue will definitely be a poll plank for the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction in the BMC polls.

5. SAVARKAR REMARKS

During his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in November targeted the late Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar, claiming he helped the British rulers and wrote a mercy petition to them out of fear, drawing criticism and triggering protests.

Addressing a press conference at Wadegaon in Akola district, Gandhi showed documents dating back to 1920 to media persons, claiming that they contained a letter written by Savarkar to the British. While addressing a rally in Washim district as part of the yatra, Gandhi called Savarkar a symbol of the BJP and the RSS.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said letters cited by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi were common during the British rule and even Mahatma Gandhi used to write such missives. Facing attack from the BJP, Thackeray had said his party has immense respect for Savarkar and he does not approve of Gandhi’s remarks .

However, Congress denied the possibility of any fallout in the MVA alliance. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh defended Rahul Gandhi, saying that he did not target the Hindutva ideologue but only highlighted a “historical fact".

Meanwhile, the BJP government in Karnataka stirred up a hornet’s nest on December 19 with the unveiling of Savarkar’s portrait in the Assembly chamber at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi.

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