Amid escalating tensions within Maharashtra’s opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on February 12, 2025, to address the fallout of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s controversial decision to honor Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The meeting, described as a strategic move to salvage opposition unity, came hours after Pawar conferred the Mahadji Shinde Rashtra Gaurav Puraskar on Shinde, who orchestrated the 2022 split in the undivided Shiv Sena to topple Uddhav Thackeray’s government with BJP support. Aditya Thackeray lambasted Shinde as “anti-Maharashtra” and “anti-national,” accusing him of betraying both the party and the state by facilitating industrial relocations and fracturing Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy.
The MVA, comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (SP), has faced existential challenges since the Mahayuti alliance—BJP, Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP—secured a dominant 235 out of 288 seats in Maharashtra’s November 2024 assembly polls, leaving the MVA with a meager 50 seats. This electoral rout, coupled with Pawar’s overture to Shinde, has deepened fissures within the coalition. Aditya Thackeray’s criticism of Pawar’s “principles” underscored the growing distrust, with Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders alleging that the award symbolized a tacit endorsement of Shinde’s rebellion.
Parallel to the Maharashtra crisis, Thackeray and Gandhi discussed broader concerns over electoral integrity, including allegations of Election Commission bias and electronic voting machine (EVM) malfunctions. Thackeray emphasized the need for opposition unity, warning that the BJP’s alleged tactics of “breaking parties” could target leaders like Nitish Kumar or Chandrababu Naidu next. He cited the AAP’s recent defeat in Delhi—where the BJP won 48 of 70 seats—as evidence of systemic issues, echoing AAP’s claims that Congress “sabotaged” its prospects in 13 constituencies by fielding weak candidates.
Aditya Thackeray’s Delhi visit also included a meeting with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on February 13, signaling an attempt to mend ties within the INDIA bloc. The alliance, formed in 2023 to counter the BJP, has struggled with internal discord, particularly over seat-sharing and leadership dynamics. While Thackeray dismissed talks of a leadership overhaul, he stressed the urgency of a collaborative roadmap to address voter fraud and EVM transparency, stating, “We have to come together to remove this pretense that we are living in a democracy”.
The political drama intensified as Sharad Pawar’s gesture toward Shinde coincided with reports of the Mahayuti’s “Operation Tiger,” a purported strategy to poach disgruntled Shiv Sena (UBT) legislators. Senior leader Rajan Salvi’s defection to Shinde’s camp further destabilized the Thackeray faction, prompting Aditya to convene urgent meetings with party MPs in Delhi. Meanwhile, Shinde downplayed the rift, praising his “cordial” ties with Pawar and dismissing claims of political opportunism.
As the MVA grapples with internal dissent and electoral setbacks, Thackeray’s outreach to national opposition figures reflects a bid to recalibrate strategy ahead of critical polls, including the Mumbai civic elections. However, with Congress and AAP trading blame over Delhi’s results and Pawar’s unpredictable maneuvers, the opposition’s path to cohesion remains fraught with challenges. The coming weeks will test whether the INDIA bloc can transform its rhetoric of unity into a viable counter-narrative against the BJP’s dominance.
