Maharashtra Politics: Those who ditched 25-year-old friend will also dump Ajit Pawar, says Shiv Sena Mumbai

The Shiv Sena on Monday launched a scathing attack on the BJP, saying those who did not respect their 25-year-long friendship with the Uddhav Thackeray-led party will one day dump NCP leader Ajit Pawar as well.

An editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' also targeted Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, saying his rebellion has failed and it will be proved in the next few days. Devendra Fadnavis took oath as chief minister like a "thief on the run", it said in sarcastic remarks.

"It is height of cheating as the governor accepted a letter of support submitted by Ajit Pawar which he had stolen from his party office. We don't want to insult this institution by calling it 'shamelessness'," the Sena said.

Fadnavis and his followers, who earlier wanted to put Ajit Pawar behind bars, are now chanting slogans in support of the chief minister and his deputy for new government formation, it noted.

In a dramatic turn of events, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were sworn in as chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at 8 am on Saturday at a hush hush ceremony in Raj Bhavan here, leading to the lifting of the President's rule in the state.

The BJP was propped up by NCP's Ajit Pawar who revolted against his party headed by his uncle Sharad Pawar. The BJP and the Sena, which fought the last month's Assembly polls in an alliance, secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats respectively. The Sena, however, broke its three-decade-long ties with the BJP after the latter declined to share the chief minister's post. The NCP and Congress won 54 and 44 seats respectively.

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"The people who did not respect the 25-year-long friendship with the Shiv Sena will one day throw away Ajit Pawar as well," the Marathi daily said, alleging that the BJP lured the NCP leader and both cheated the entire state. "Those who think power is above all, are in their last lap. The people of the state need to just wait for some time (to see it)," the Sena said.

The BJP's "art of deceiving and culture of brokering" has led Maharashtra into this political instability, it said. "First they lost a friend like the Shiv Sena and now they are committing crime like a seasoned criminal," the publication said in stinging remarks.

The BJP has done away with its principles and morality and decided to stoop low to retain power in Maharashtra. In the given situation, it is impossible for the BJP to prove majority in the state Assembly, the Sena said.

"It is like milking a bull," it added. In the 288-member House, the BJP will have to prove support of 145 MLAs to remain in power. "The entire state is ridiculing the BJP. The party otherwise likes to take a high moral ground, but it has been unmasked now.

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Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be uncomfortable with such backlash," the Shiv Sena said. If some people feel they can do whatever they want with the help of power, investigation agencies and lot of black money, then it is an insult of Chhatrapati Shivaji's Maharashtra, it said. The BJP (Fadnavis) rushed and took the oath along with Ajit Pawar, when it learnt that talks of the Sena-NCP-Congress combine on government formation were nearing conclusion.

"It is like blackening the tradition of Maharashtra politics," remarked the Uddhav Thackeray-led party. The BJP should no longer indulge in hypocrisy of observing the imposition of Emergency by Indira Gandhi as a 'black day', as it has more frequently misused the office of President and Governor for its own political gain, the Sena charged.

-PTI

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