Shiv Sena-BJP alliance: Drive slow, U-turn ahead!

The tiger became a cat, said one of the memes making fun of Shiv Sena's decision to ally with the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections. For over a year, the Sena had claimed it would go alone at the polls, both Lok Sabha and assembly. So, when Shiv Sena did a U-turn and announced its decision to ally with the BJP, trolls had a field day on social media.

The on-and-off relationship has a history.

In January last year, the Shiv Sena had declared that they would face all elections in the future alone. The decision had stemmed from Sena's need to regain lost ground. At that time, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party had felt that the BJP's support was waning. By going alone, Sena had hoped to capitalise on the failures of the Devendra Fadnavis government. It even passed a resolution to fight the 2019 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly polls on its own at its national executive meet.

In June, BJP chief Amit Shah came calling with an olive branch. But it was "all drama" according to Thackeray. Sanjay Raut, Sena's spokesperson who constantly ripped BJP apart in editorials of the party's mouthpiece Saamna, said the meeting would not culminate in an alliance for the next Lok Sabha polls. The two-hour bridge-building meeting between the chiefs failed.

When Sena lost to the BJP in a Lok Sabha by-election, Thackeray accused its ally of using "all possible means" to win the by-poll. The BJP's win saw the relations between the two parties plummet to an all-time low.

From calling out the BJP's obsession over cows, to questioning its idea of Hindutva, the Sena left no stone unturned in criticising the BJP. "We (Shiv Sena) never said cows should be slaughtered. But while protecting cows, India has become the most unsafe country for women. One should be ashamed of it. You want to save gau mata (cow), but what about mata (mother)," Thackeray said in an interview to Saamna.

The relationship soured further as the clamour for building Ram temple at Ayodhya grew. "The way you (the BJP government) took the decision of note ban instantly, you can take the decision to build the Ram Mandir instantly, because you have a majority," said Thackeray then.

In November, Thackeray visited Ayodhya and asked the Narendra Modi government to wake up from a Kumbhakarna-like slumber and declare the date for the construction of the mandir.

“Mandir wahin baneyange, par date nahin batayenge (You say you will make the temple there, but won't tell the date),” Thackeray chided Modi. Their call for an ordinance bill to construct the temple was left unanswered.

As the new year began, Sena seemed to be renewing its attempt to hurt the BJP. Thackeray was heard repeating Congress president Rahul Gandhi's chant 'Pehredar chor hai'.

A Shiv Sena insider told THE WEEK in January that the party is firm on its position of contesting election alone. "So far, there is no change in our stand. Uddhavji has not indicated anything to that effect to the party. He is the only decision-maker in our party. An ordinance on Ram Temple by the Union government could have opened a way for realignment of both parties but the prime minister clearly said in the recent interview that government will not issue an ordinance. Our party has given a call for 'Pehle mandir fir sarkar ( Temple first, government later)'.

The leader also said that if the government had issued an ordinance on Ayodhya, Sena would have been forced to continue the alliance.

But, surprisingly, signs of the thawing of relations were witnessed a few days ago at the last sitting of the 16th Lok Sabha as Sena voiced hope that the ruling NDA would retain power at the Centre. Sena MP Anandrao Adsul said, "We expect that the NDA will come back to power with a majority."

Monday's announcement to bury the hatchet and go at the polls together surprised many. But with Shiv Sena emerging victorious in the seat-sharing discussion, Thackeray has emerged the winner. “Should we allow misunderstanding to affect our relations? I will not say that; let us forget whatever happened in the last five years. On the contrary, we must learn from the last five years and never allow mistrust to grow. This is a new beginning for both parties and we will go ahead with clean and clear minds and no malice in our hearts," said Thackeray.

Shiv Sena now seems to have directed the 'malice' at the Congress party, it seems. Expect more barbs against the main opposition party and Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in future.