Allies need to set aside differences and start work

Thackeray’s logic for taking Sangli was that the Shiv Sena had already conceded its traditional seats like Kolhapur and Ramtek for the benefit of the Congress party

The last few days have witnessed bickering between the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies—the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Congress—over several seats, especially in Mumbai, where the Thackeray party had unilaterally announced the names for several seats.

The last friction point came on Wednesday in the form of the Sangli seat, where the Shiv Sena has announced the candidature of Chandrahar Patil despite the Congress coveting the seat for Vishal Patil, the grandson of its one-time chief minister, the late Vasantdada Patil. Thackeray’s logic for taking Sangli was that the Shiv Sena had already conceded its traditional seats like Kolhapur and Ramtek for the benefit of the Congress party.

Also, as first reported by this newspaper on Wednesday, Thackeray also confirmed that his party will field a candidate for Mumbai North “if the Congress is not interested”. Mid-day had reported how the Congress district president and SS-UBT’s Vinod Ghosalkar are at loggerheads for the constituency. All this points to bad blood between the allies, which could in turn spill over to the grass-roots cadre, who are the backbone of any successful election campaign. The two parties, which are literally in an existential fight for survival in the state, need to quickly set aside their differences.

Only then will there be clarity for the lower rung workers, who will then need to be enthused to campaign for either their own party’s candidate or the ally’s. If this bickering continues, it will only end up strengthening the hands of a jittery rival, the Mahayuti, which already is strong in several places.

Last but not the least, only by presenting a unified front will they be able to inspire confidence among those voters who are still undecided or on the fence. In short, sorting their differences could be the biggest difference between massive electoral gains or a wipe out for these two parties.

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