Devendra Fadnavis and Sanjay Raut at NDTV Marathi's Jahirnama event today
They are arch-rivals in Maharashtra's political arena, taking swipes and unleashing barbs at each other as the state gears up for the November 20 Assembly election. But in a rare moment of political bonhomie, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut shook hands and exchanged laughs at the NDTV Marathi's Jahirnama event today. The two leaders also posed for a photograph, and Mr Fadnavis quipped, "(This is) the photo of the year."
The 288 Assembly segments of the Maharashtra will vote on November 20. The votes will be counted on November 23.
Maharashtra's political landscape has completely changed between the 2019 state polls and the upcoming election. In 2019, the BJP and Shiv Sena alliance scored a thumping victory. The alliance fell through due to a disagreement over rotational chief ministership. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray then tied up with Sharad Pawar's NCP and the Congress to form the government. This government was toppled two years later due to a mutiny led by Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who then became Chief Minister with BJP's support. The Sena split and the NCP followed. Currently, the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP are part of the ruling coalition. They are up against the alliance of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar's NCP.
The BJP-Sena-NCP alliance suffered a setback in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, winning just 17 of the 48 seats in the politically significant state. The Maha Vikas Aghadi, on the other hand, put up a stellar show by winning 30 seats.
In this election, the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP combine is looking to recover from the Lok Sabha polls setback, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising Sena (UBT), NCP and the Congress is going all-out to wrest power and script a comeback story.