‘Mahabharata’ in Mahayuti before BMC elections! Ramdas Athawale’s big blast, will the alliance break now?

There has been an uproar in the politics of Maharashtra as soon as the battle bells for Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections have started. The rift in the ruling Mahayuti alliance has now come to the fore. Union minister and Republican Party of India (A) chief Ramdas Athawale has directly accused the BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena of “betrayal”. Athawale is angry that his party has been completely sidelined in the seat sharing.

Athawale gets angry: ‘This is an attack on self-respect’

Ramdas Athawale vented his anger on the social media platform ‘X’, calling it an insult to the loyalty shown to the alliance. He wrote that since the formation of Mahayuti, he has always supported honestly, but what happened in seat distribution is a fraud. According to Athawale, time was fixed for discussion on Monday, but colleagues did not even consider it necessary to talk to him. He clearly said that this is an attack on the self-respect of his workers and now whatever decision his workers take, he will stand by it.

Mathematics of seats and Athawale’s demand

The root of the controversy is the announcement made on Monday, in which BJP is talking about contesting elections on 137 seats and Shinde’s Shiv Sena on 90 seats. There was no mention of even a single seat for RPI (Athawale) in this formula. Interestingly, till just a few hours ago, Athawale was claiming the victory of Mahayuti. He had demanded only 16 seats and argued that only Mahayuti would become the mayor on the basis of Marathi and Dalit votes of Mumbai. But BJP and Shinde faction angered Athawale by saying that they will give tickets to smaller parties from their quota.

RPI preparing to contest elections alone

The rift in the alliance has increased so much that now RPI (A) has indicated to enter the fray alone. According to party sources, their candidates are going to file nominations on about 50 seats. However, there is still time for nominations to be withdrawn, so the party is waiting for a ‘respectful discussion’. If things do not work out, then ‘friendly competition’ or outright war may be seen on the Mumbai seats.

Disintegrating clan: Ajit Pawar is already separate

Athawale is not the only one creating problems for Mahayuti. Ajit Pawar-led NCP has also already decided to contest the BMC elections separately. Elections for 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra are to be held on January 15 and the last date for nomination is Tuesday. In such a situation, the displeasure of Athawale and Ajit Pawar can prove costly for the BJP and Shinde’s Shiv Sena, because the scattering of votes can directly benefit the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).