Is there an uneasy calm in the Maharashtra coalition? When Sharad Pawar refuted claims that Presidential offers were made to him, was he sending a hidden message to Uddhav Thackeray that he can afford to call it quits if Uddhav goes on to be politically cantankerous?
Bengaluru: In an interview with a Marathi channel, Sharad Pawar, the NCP chief demolished rumours of the PM Narendra Modi offering him to make the President of India.
However, he did confess that there was an offer to make Supriya Sule a minister in the Modi cabinet.
Though Pawar rubbished rumours of a Presidential offer, was he sending a message to none other than Uddhav Thackeray through this statement?
Pawar is a doyen on Indian politics and is known to be shrewd and sharp in moving his pawns.
By saying so, was Pawar only warning Uddhav Thackeray that he is in the good books of Modi, and in case of Uddhav flexing his muscles and becoming politically cantankerous, or a possible rebellion, Pawar can easily dismantle the coalition and join hands with the BJP?
Shreenath Sheshadri, a BJP spokesperson says, “It is a major war between Shiva Sena and the other two. NCP and Congress want the best of portfolios. Under these circumstances, they are caught so badly. They do not know what to do. Everything is not well within the coalition. It has nothing to do with the BJP. Neither of them is in love with BJP. They are only using us to issue threat perceptions to each other.”
He also added, “If this is how bad it is initially, then, think of how worse it will go on eventually.”
When Sharad Pawar met PM Modi after the Maharashtra election results were announced, speculations were rife that the two top leaders were talking of a possible government in Maharashtra.
In fact, when the Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh invited Devendra Fadnavis to be sworn in, these speculations garnered a lot of weight.
But as days wore on, the mask was off, with BJP conceding that it didn’t have numbers and Devendra Fadnavis tendering his resignations.
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