Shiv Sena digs in, writes off Narendra Modi effect

A day after BJP's humiliating defeat in the by-polls, the Shiv Sena, which is engaged in a bitter fight for more assembly seats with its ally, chose to dig it in by claiming that the results of the state assembly polls differ from that of the Lok Sabha and that "the minds of the people are fickle."

The Sena, which is trying to hold on to its status as a senior partner in the saffron alliance, also tried to discount the impact of the Narendra Modi wave in the Maharashtra assembly polls due on October 15.

Why the fight over seats?
Following the unprecedented of Mahayuti in Lok Sabha polls, the BJP is demanding that the previous formula be re-worked to let them contest an equal number of seats as the Sena after leaving out around 18 to 20 for their four smaller allies. It is also eyeing the chief minister's chair, something that the Sena is vehemently opposed to. The BJP is trying to shed its underdog status in the saffron alliance and edge out the Sena, which has a much broader political and social base, as the dominant partner.

Why is Sena discounting Modi wave?
An editorial on Tuesday in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna said the results underlined that "the minds of the people are fickle." "Do not take the people for granted. Keep your feet planted firmly on the ground. Do not let success go to your head.... only the ones who learn this lesson will capture Maharashtra," it warned.

"The assembly elections cannot be fought on the basis of the atmosphere created in the Lok Sabha and the Zilla Parishad and municipal corporation polls cannot be contested on the basis of assembly results," the Sena said, while questioning who was responsible if the work done by Modi in his 100 days in office did not trickle down. It added that just like the success of the Congress in by-polls could not be attributed to the Gandhis, Modi could not be blamed for the defeat. It added that the feverish and virulent "Love Jihad" pitch by BJP MP Yogi Adityanath had not paid off in Uttar Pradesh.

What's Sena's take on SP, Cong victory?
The editorial claimed that the victory of the Congress and SP on traditional BJP seats was a "mystery" but said the results of the by-polls and the Modi wave should not be compared. "The people gave Modi the mandate to run the country. This does not mean that because the results in gram panchayat elections are adverse, this can be blamed on the Modi wave," said the editorial, adding that "the atmosphere in every election is different and this changes after every result."

"There are heavy expectations from the Modi government," said a Shiv Sena MLA, adding that instead of merely depending on the Modi wave, the BJP needed to strengthen ties with the Sena for success in the polls. He noted that while speaking to legislators after the Lok Sabha results, Uddhav had warned them against relying too much on this wave and focussing on getting at least 90 MLAs elected so that the party could get its own chief minister.

Uddhav cancels important meet
On a day when BJP president Amit Shah was in Mumbai, Uddhav called a meeting of district chiefs from across Maharashtra at the party headquarters of Sena Bhawan at Dadar, but called it off at the last minute purportedly as he was interviewing prospective candidates. He also met shakha pramukhs from Mumbai later.
Meanwhile, RPI (A) chief and Dalit leader Ramdas Athavale, and farmer leader and Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetti, urged the two parties to resolve their dispute and pointed out there was a slim chance of success unless the saffron allies stayed united.