Maharashtra government in a spot with Vedanta-Foxconn's Gujarat move

It gives a lie to the BJP propaganda that a 'double engine' government helps the progress and development of the state

The fate of the beleaguered opposition - the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress - in Maharashtra has suddenly altered.

A huge political controversy in the wake of the Rs 1.54 lakh crore Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor project being shifted to Gujarat at the last minute has changed the political discourse. It is helping the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents to give the BJP and the splinter Sena group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde a run for their money.

The migration of the ambitious mega project to the home turf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has shocked Maharashtra. The long and short of the controversy is that doubts are being raised about whether the BJP and the Sena's splinter group could protect the interests of Maharashtra in the face of pressures from Gujarat, the powerhouse of the powers that be.

Read | Shifted project after professional advice: Vedanta Group Chairman Agarwal

Right or wrong, questions are also being asked whether the migration of the project to Gujarat is the 'price' paid for installing the new government in Maharashtra.

The slip between the cup and the lip over the project has naturally brought the opposition in Maharashtra together. They have started exploiting the issue to the hilt, suspecting there is more to it than meets the eye. Obviously, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government has become the favourite punching bag.

While they are explicitly not saying so, the burden of the opposition argument is that the PM has been instrumental in inflicting the injustice on Maharashtra as he sided with Gujarat. Assembly polls in Gujarat are round the corner, where the BJP is fighting hard to shake off the anti-incumbency factor after being in power for 27 years.

It looks not without reason. Maharashtra offered Rs 12,000 crore more benefits to the mega project than Gujarat, is the protestors' argument. What has added fuel to the fire is the opposition charge that the new government had failed to bring in a mega drug bulk project to Maharashtra, which too has gone elsewhere.

'How is it that the Vedanta project has gone to Gujarat soon after the change of government in Maharashtra?' is a direct question being asked by former CM and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray echoing the sentiments of the opposition and a sizable section of the population perplexed over the development. And the fact is that there are no straight or clear answers.

It also gives a lie to the BJP propaganda that a 'double engine' government helps the progress and development of the state. There has been resentment in Maharashtra over Gujarat getting precedence in development projects at its cost since Modi became the PM. The controversial bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad initiated by the PM with the help of Japan is intended more to benefit Gujarat at the cost of Maharashtra, or so is the feeling in the state. Maharashtra is paying much more for the project than Gujarat.

Two years back, the Centre's decision to establish the International Financial Service Centre in Gujarat instead of in Mumbai had come under attack from the opposition. Sharad Pawar then wrote to the PM, dubbing the decision "egregious, erroneous and unwarranted". He had warned the PM that it would be seen as a move to shift the financial centres and business houses away from Maharashtra and would create unnecessary political disturbances.

On the Vedanta issue, Fadnavis' line that "Gujarat is not Pakistan" and it is the "younger brother" of Maharashtra does not appear to be helping the BJP or the coalition led by the Sena's splinter group. Maharashtra and Gujarat were formed as separate states on May 1, 1960, out of the erstwhile Bombay state.

The worst hit in the state since the controversy broke out is none other than the CM. Right or wrong, the opposition is succeeding in creating an impression that Shinde is nothing more than a dummy CM who is good at nothing and does not know statecraft. Fadnavis, who is seen helpless on the Vedanta issue, too has suffered.

But, such an impression gaining ground is neither good for the splinter group nor for the BJP, which Shinde had once obliquely referred to as the "mahashakti" backing the Sena splitters. The Sena uses the sobriquet "gaddar" (traitors) for the splinters, and the rival sides have always been daggers drawn.

Looked at from Shinde's angle, he is more a victim of circumstances and has been forced to be a sitting duck when it appears that the powers that be at the Centre prevailed, totally, completely, wholly.

The statement/tweets by Vedanta are being seen as a palliative offered to the more than bruised Maharashtra government by promising projects associated with the mega-deal. The opposition sees it as adding salt to the wounds. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

The PM's assurance to the CM that he would ensure that a 'far bigger project' than Vedanta-Foxconn comes to Maharashtra is being seen by the opposition as offering a lollipop to a crying child. "It means nothing. It is like trying to humour a child," NCP chief Sharad Pawar has remarked, taking a dig at both the PM and the CM. He suggested that such talk is humiliating to Maharashtra.

The Sena has been at its aggressive best, with Aaditya Thackeray taking the lead in targeting Shinde as Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was in Moscow when the controversy broke out. Shinde has been nicknamed "Mr Khparfode" (one habitual in blaming others) by the Sena for faulting the Uddhav government for the migration of the project.

The NCP is not far behind, with the Maharashtra Leader of the Opposition and former Deputy CM writing to the CM expressing shock and concern over the development and seeking steps to bring back the project. The state Congress, too, is aggressive on the issue, with its chief Nana Patole saying that he would not be surprised if Mumbai goes to Gujarat in the future.

The way the MNS chief Raj Thackeray has reacted to it has not helped his ally, the BJP. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief has demanded a probe into how the Vedanta-Foxconn deal went from Maharashtra to Gujarat. He wondered how the deal went into Gujarat's hands when the investors' priority was Maharashtra. "It is serious and not a good sign. We should go beyond politics and look at this issue," Raj Thackeray said.

Elections to the Municipal Corporations of Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Pimpri-Chinchwad and others are expected soon, while those of the Lok Sabha is just 19 months away. The Assembly polls in Maharashtra should take place by October 2024.

What has given an added thrust to the controversy is the attack by Home Minister Amit Shah on the Sena during his visit to Mumbai earlier this month, in which he declared that the BJP was out to "punish" Uddhav Thackeray's party in the civic polls for breaking ranks. Mumbai is the richest civic body in Asia and has been run by the Sena for more than 25 years.

The usually aggressive BJP in Maharashtra is still lacking the punch. Fadnavis has hit out at the BJP's detractors, accusing them of spreading "negative, false and baseless claims to gain political mileage". He has thanked the promoters of the project for promising to set up associated projects in Maharashtra. Mumbai BJP chief has sought a judicial inquiry to find out what happened in the sudden exit of the project from the state.

It would be a different story if Fadnavis walks the talk and works on the war footing to take Maharashtra ahead of Gujarat. The Rs 3.5 lakh crore Nanar refinery project in Ratnagiri district and the Vadhavan port project to set up a mega port in Palghar district hold the key.

It goes without saying that the more the Vedanta-Foxconn controversy lingers, the more it will affect the ruling side in Maharashtra.

(The authors are senior journalists)