You could say the state’s politics are in a bit of a stir after UBT’s Sanjay Raut put out an open call for any Shinde Sena heads who are fed up with the BJP to come see Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree. It has been close to four years since the great Shiv Sena schism, but this kind of outreach suggests a reset may be in the offing, one that puts the current alliance’s equilibrium to the test.
A rare public invite and its message
When Raut made his pitch on Tuesday, he didn’t mince words about who he was talking to: the ones who walked away in 2022 and now think the BJP has let them down. “If you feel the BJP has been working against Maharashtra, our farmers and Marathi interests, then come to Matoshree and have a word with Uddhav Thackeray,” he put it.
The MP from the Sena (UBT) made the point plain: you can’t have two Shiv Senas. But he also made it clear he wasn’t offering a free pass to everyone who left. This is a case of being selective about who gets back in, not a general amnesty.
What makes it stand out is that it is the first time the Uddhav side has made a direct move toward the 2022 breakaways. Before this, you might have heard an occasional word or two from one side or the other about mending fences, but nothing like a formal invitation.
Dissent over seat-sharing drives the moment
Raut didn’t pick his moment by chance. There has been some restlessness in the Shinde camp of late over the formula for sharing Legislative Council seats with the BJP, and it has been hard to keep under wraps.
Seat-sharing flashpoint
Take the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna local authorities constituency. The Mahayuti deal gave it to the BJP, yet Sameer Sattar, son of ex-minister Abdul Sattar, put in his papers as an Independent. It only serves to put a finer point on whether some in the Sena are feeling put on the shelf.
Abdul Sattar, over in the Shinde fold these days, has no qualms about saying the BJP is encroaching on the Sena’s turf and has even put his weight behind the notion of a reunion. He has some colourful ways of making his case that the BJP has been hard on both sides, which ratchets up the pressure on the numbers game in the alliance.
Signals from both camps
Ambadas Danve, for one, was in favour of Sattar’s line from the Uddhav end, though he was careful to say it isn’t his call to make. A short stop-and-chat between the two on the Samruddhi Expressway has people talking, even if neither will say any real business was done.
Then Raut cranked up the volume, going so far as to say the BJP was never the senior in the old set-up and is to blame for the split. He called the Shinde outfit the result of some ‘corrupt practices’ by the Election Commission and is confident the Supreme Court will side with Uddhav when it comes to the name and symbol of the party.
Sushma Andhare, a Sena (UBT) spokesperson, was equally blunt in her reply to the noise. She labelled the BJP ‘slow poison’ and told Sattar he was in a bind because he was after power. It is the kind of sparring you would expect given the mood Raut has put in the room.
Why it matters and what next
This Matoshree overture is more than a story; it is a test. Should some of the Shinde loyalists put their hand up, it could very well change the dynamic in the ruling bloc and how they do business from here on in.
It also gives Uddhav’s people the upper hand in setting the rules for anyone who wants to rejoin. Raut is drawing a line in the sand to show that not every defector is welcome back, putting a price on re-entry.
Here is what to be watching for:
– Any takers from the Shinde side for the invite
– If those running as Independents get a quiet nod of approval
– A possible rework of the seat-sharing deal
– How the two sides spin the talk of a get-together
For a Shinde leader who is chafing at the bit, it is a no-nonsense choice: take the risk of coming back with strings attached, or try to make your mark in the present setup. The BJP, for its part, may find it harder to keep its allies in line if the fissures get any deeper.
In the end, Raut is standing by his word: the only true Shiv Sena is the one Balasaheb built and Uddhav leads. We will have to see if that kind of firmness is enough to bring in some headhunters or if it is just for the record.
