Even after 32 years of its establishment, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra is still struggling to reaffirm its political identity as the main opposition party in the state.
Even after 32 years of its establishment, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra is still struggling to reaffirm its political identity as the main opposition party in the state.
The BJP was founded on April 6, 1980 but unlike the national level where its status as main opposition party remains unquestioned in state it is often overshadowed by regional parties like the Shiv Sena, which has been in existence since June 19, 1966. To add to this the emergence of Raj Thackeray led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in 2006 has given it another worthy adversary in the state.
The current trends indicate that state BJP chief Sudhir Mungantiwar and leader of the opposition Eknath Khadse have made attempts to sharpen their knives against the Congress and NCP to reassert the party’s identity.
The political managers in the party admit, “Our aggression against the NCP is a calculated game plan. It doesn’t matter if it Sharad or Ajit Pawar who provides us with a face to take the battle to the people. The land deals have worked to our advantage.”
The BJP appears less aggressive against the Congress which is multi-headed. A senior BJP leader said, “The chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has a clean image. Any attacks against him will not serve any purpose. But as and when possible we are going to expose land deals against the others in the Congress and NCP.”
However, Khadse said, “As the opposition we are against the Democratic Front government. Why should we attack one and spare the other. Who ever is guilty will be exposed. We have documents to substantiate our claims.”
Clash of interest and power tussles have often exposed the cracks in the party. The state is still divided into two camps -all India BJP president Nitin Gadkari’s group and general secretary Gopinath Munde’s faction. Individuals in the party have started setting their own agendas for getting ahead.
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