Is Uddhav Sena To Go Independent In Local Body Polls? (image:x.com/OfficeofUT)

Maharashtra: After the massive setback in the Maharashtra assembly election, fissures have started appearing in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Former Chief Minster and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray is facing pressures from the leaders to quit the alliance for the better political future.

The majority of the newly elected MLAs and functionaries from the party are persuading the Thackeray to contest civic and local bodies elections solo, especially the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.  The grassroots cadre of the Sena (UBT) now completely overshadowed by the Shiv Sena (Shinde) is questioning the “effectiveness” of the MVA.

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Ambadas Danve, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) said: “Many of our MLAs feel it is time for the Shiv Sena (UBT) to forge an independent path, contest elections on its own, and not depend on any alliance. The Shiv Sena was never meant to chase power… It (power) will come naturally when we remain steadfast in our ideology,” reports the Indian Express.

Danve also added that going independent would help the party ‘build on its foundation.’

Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders also feel that BJP‘s success in polls is attributed to consolidation of Hindutva votes and they are concerned that with the accommodation the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP the Hindutva ideology of the party is getting diluted. The Congress and the NCP carries more secular and socialist orientation, they added.

“Securing Muslim votes is beneficial, but if those votes drive away other supporters, their value becomes questionable,” a Sena (UBT) leader from Nashik Central told the Indian Express.

Meanwhile, Thackeray and other party leaders such as Aaditya Thackeray and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut are keen on continuing the alliance to “present a united opposition against the BJP”, the sources states.

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The recent assembly election result was a huge setback as the MVA managed to secure only 46 votes. In the alliance, the Sena (UBT) emerged as the largest party by securing 20 seats, followed by Congress garnering 16 seats and NCP (Sharad Pawar) at the third position with 10 seats. The ruling Mahayuti alliance comprising BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP marked a resounding vicory by winning 230 seats.