NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Congress leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Prithviraj Chavan during a joint press conference, in Mumbai, Saturday.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Accusing the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of scoring in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra with the help of the "M-factor", the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena said that all the three parties are vying for the post of chief minister and severe inter-party and intra-party differences have cropped up among the three opposition allies.
The comments of Shiv Sena come in the wake of Saturday’s joint meeting of the MVA (I.N.D.I.A. bloc) partners - Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
“Each party is vying for the chief minister's post, dreaming to grab power after the Vidhan Sabha polls…and every party has several aspirants for the top job,” Shiv Sena secretary and spokesperson Kiran Pawaskar said.
“MVA’s focus is coming to power rather than addressing people’s issues,” he said.
Pawaskar said that there was a terrific rift among the three opposition partners. “The alliance appears fractured as tensions between Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress have escalated in the last two days. Congress leaders are angry at the NCP (SP),” he said.
Pawaskar also hinted at problems within the Congress as the state president Nana Patole was not present in the MVA meeting.
Pawaskar noted that Shiv Sena (UBT) candidates were elected with Muslim votes as the Marathi community in Mumbai has rejected them. “Despite this, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Aaditya Thackeray are eyeing power in the assembly elections,” he said.
Pointing out that the position of Shiv Sena (UBT), which won nine seats, is “precarious”, Pawaskar further said that Congress and NCP (SP), which share a “complementary ideology”, secured 22 seats as against the performance of the Thackeray-led party.