Shiv Senas subtle anti-Gujarati posture could benefit BJP. Following the breakup of the saffron alliance, the Shiv Sena has taken an increasingly strident sons-of-the-soil position, that may result in a consolidation of non-Maharashtrian voters behind the BJP. And it appears that the party will look to sharpen this division, particularly in the Mumbai and Thane region. The focus has been particularly on the Gujaratis, which is not surprising, as both Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, who have together scripted the BJPs Maharashtra assembly campaign, are from Gujarat. And they are seen as being responsible for the split in the 25-year-old alliance. The Sena, through its mouthpiece Saamna, has accused the BJP of trying to break up the state, carving out a separate Vidarbha, at the behest of seth sahukars (money bags) and that it wanted to also sever Mumbai from the state. A couple of days ago, it asked how Modi could promise to develop Maharashtra when Anandiben Patel, the BJPs CM in Gujarat, was wooing Maharashtras industrialists to move to her state. A Sena candidate from the city agreed there was a Maharashtrian undercurrent, but explained that it was the result of an increasing assertiveness among Gujaratis since Modi became PM. Now, Sena supporters suggest that the attack has led Shah to go slow on campaigning. Surendra Jondhale, professor, department of civics and politics, University of Mumbai, said Uddhav Thackeray could seek to polarise Marathi voters as the BJP is seen as a party of traders, upper castes and non-Maharashtrians. It may also be necessary for him to check the advance of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), he said. For the record, though, the party has nominated Gujaratis and a North Indian among its candidates in Mumbai. In fact, Raj Thackeray, whose MNS has agitated against the influx of outsiders to Mumbai, has ramped up criticism of Modi for focusing excessively on Gujarat and reminding him that he is PM of India. More : dnaindia/mumbai/report-shiv-sena-s-subtle-anti-gujarati-posture-could-benefit-bjp-2024310
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 04:09:05 +0000
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