After pulling off 'bloodless coup', Shinde-Fadnavis mired in multiple battles

Just when the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government led by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in Maharashtra appeared to be settling cosily at the halfway mark of its tenure a shockandawe rebellion unseated it barely within halfamonth in JuneThe bloodless coup unprecedented for state politics saw the rise of a rebel Shiv Sena group led by Eknath Shinde later head of Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena BSS who joined hands with the then Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party to unseat the Shiv Sena UBT Congress and Nationalist Congress Party autorickshaw governmentThe MVA and the Sena UBT hit back at the new dispensation with a series of legal challenges which are pending before the Supreme CourtAs per current indicators the court case may drag on for long but if and when the verdict goes against the BSSBJP it could pave the way for the Presidents Rule followed by midterm polls in the stateUnder any possible scenario the BSSBJP will need to establish its credibility visavis the massive sympathy that the ousted MVA continues to enjoy among the masses which could be crucial for any elections particularly the upcoming civic elections to several major corporations including MumbaiAlso read Kerala university to grant 60 days maternity leave to studentsBesides the hanging legal sword the ShindeFadnavis government suffered major setbacks when several major industrial projects abruptly deserted the state and went to Gujarat and certain other statesThe MVA Opposition cried foul went hammerandtongs after the ShindeFadnavis government especially since Maharashtra ranks as the countrys mostdeveloped and investorfriendly state and something that didnt go down well with the working and business classesAfter pleading by ShindeFadnavis the Centre to compensate for losses here and so far a few unimpressive commitments have come up which are being crowed as major achievements but the creamy ones continue to elude and may prove to be disastrous at the hustingsAround November the long simmering MaharashtraKarnataka boundary issue territorial political and emotional suddenly jumped to the centrestage but here Maharashtra seems to have gone on the backfootIn contrast Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai eyeing the next Assembly polls in his state looms like a giant prowling around to swallow the small villages on the other side with the ShindeFadnavis cowering helplessly like NanosLuckily for the two states the Union Home Minister Amit Shah intervened to put his foot down on the issue and told both sides to maintain restraint not to make tall claims over each other or vitiate the atmosphere till the Supreme Court verdictAprilMay saw the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS President Raj Thackeray grabbing the centrestage by challenging the alleged menace of loudspeakers blaring highdecibel azaan Muslim call for prayer from mosques in the state and counter them with fullthroated Hanuman Chalisa renditionThough claiming success for the agitation and even getting patted by ShindeFadnavis Raj Thackeray still shies from a direct alliance with the BSSBJP for the upcoming elections to over a dozen big civic bodiesPostMVA collapse Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut was at his loudest vocal best against the ShindeFadnavis government and finally he paid the price for it in the form of arrest on August 1 in an alleged landscam and money laundering caseRaut secured bail in November after spending 110 days in jail and walked out to a changed political scenario with a different party name poll symbol and a muchtruncated Sena and is slowly regaining his voiceIn November the state and nation were shocked with the brutal killing of a Palghar woman Shraddha Walkar by her livein partner Aaftab Poonawala much like the diabolic murder of a corporate executive Sheena Bora exactly 10 years agoOn anticipated lines there was a clamour from some quarters to enact a lovejihad type of law here and the state took a first step by appointing a panel to check out interreligious marriages and help the girls trapped into such marriages but have severed links with their families and is now studying other states laws for the next stepTowards the yearend the state Governors utterances on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and other icons resulted in a fresh tumult especially with several BJP leaders also making similar statementsA majority of the parties are now demanding the ouster of the Governor again something unprecedented for the state and action against the BJP leaders accused of badmouthing legendary personalitiesAfter the upheavals in 2022 the masses hope that real issues like inflation unemployment womens security and farmers woes bounce back on the priorities of the squabbling political parties in 2023This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or 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