Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde would never have had the guts to try delaying tactics and sulking against Maharashtra CM frontrunner Devendra Fadnavis unless he had the backing of some ‘Mahashakti’ (superpower) in Delhi, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said in Delhi on Tuesday.
“You must understand that Eknath Shinde is the leader of those who ran away from the Shiv Sena as soon as they were threatened by the Enforcement Directorate and other agencies. So Shinde cannot dare to throw tantrums or sulk against Devendra Fadnavis, without the backing of some ‘Mahashakti’ in Delhi. I feel some superpower in Delhi is behind Eknath Shinde’s tantrums and sulking against Devendra Fadnavis. All that is happening in Maharashtra is that many are dancing to a drumbeat emerging from Delhi,” Raut said, indirectly targetting the BJP’s top brass.
Raut said that the delay in forming the government in Maharashtra despite receiving a thumping majority is a matter of shame. He said that despite more than 10 days since the assembly election results were declared on November 23, no party or alliance has staked claim to form the government nor given a list of MLAs who are backing it.
Though the BJP’s Maharashtra state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule went ahead and declared the date of swearing-in as December 5 at the Azad Maidan ground, the Governor of Maharashtra is yet to invite anybody to form the government, Raut said.
Raut also called the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena as “duplicate Shiv Sena”. “Eknath Shinde is the caretaker Chief Minister of Maharashtra. How can a Chief Minister simply disappear? Delhi has CBI, Police, RAW and other intelligence agencies. Some games are going on in Maharashtra. It has been on for 10 days. They (Mahayuti) have a huge majority but even then they are not able to declare the name of the Chief Minister so far. They have not gone to stake claim to form the government in Raj Bhavan even now and the Raj Bhavan also hasn’t invited them to form the government. The Chief Minister’s name has not been finalised till now. Who is doing all this? All this is a game being played out of Delhi,” Raut said.
Raut also took potshots at NCP leader Ajit Pawar who is likely to be sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. “Ajit Pawar is neither the future nor the past Deputy Chief Minister. He is always the Deputy Chief Minister. It’s really commendable. I can see the smile on his face today. But his smile had faded after the Lok Sabha results. They should all worship electronic voting machines (EVMs). EVMs should be kept in temples and worshipped by them, “Raut said.
Referring to the attempt to organise a mock re-poll using ballot papers by the villagers of Markadwadi in Maharashtra protesting against EVMs, Raut said, “The BJP does not care about the Chief Minister. This government is subverting democracy. They don’t trust the people they vote for or the government they elect. People have doubts about the elections which the Election Commission should clarify. Instead, the police imposed Section 144 in Markadwadi village today and prevented people from gathering for the repoll. People who want to vote in a democratic way have been threatened not to leave their homes. The BJP lost the election there, but the voters feel that votes received by the winning candidate are less than expected”.