Routed in the Maharashtra Assembly election, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was asked if this result has settled the debate over who represents the 'real' Shiv Sena -- he or his estranged lieutenant and the incumbent Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The former Chief Minister, whose government was toppled in 2022 when Mr Shinde led a rebellion that split the Sena, had a message for his former brother-in-arms. "You have to work under (Devendra) Fadnavis. First figure out which bungalow you will get," Mr Thackeray replied.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief also referred to the ongoing legal battle over which faction has claim to the Sena's symbol and name and lamented that the case had not reached a conclusion yet.
The Sena (UBT) has won 20 out of the 89 seats it contested, while the Shinde Sena scored 57 out of the 80 seats it fought. The results were shocking when seen in comparison to the Lok Sabha polls just months ago. In the general election, the Sena (UBT) had won nine seats and Shinde Sena scored seven. And five months later, its tally is nowhere close to the breakaway faction's score. This would be disheartening for Team Thackeray, which was hoping its poll show would prove it was the 'real' Sena.
The result, however, has raised a big question for Eknath Shinde: will he remain Chief Minister. When he joined hands with the BJP after the 2022 mutiny, Mr Shinde had become Chief Minister despite the BJP being the bigger party in the coalition. Former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had agreed, albeit grudgingly, to accept the Deputy Chief Minister post.
But this time, the BJP has scored a massive mandate by winning 133 out of the 148 seats it contested and is likely to claim the top post. What's more, Mr Shinde has little to bargain because the BJP can still reach the majority mark, thanks to its other ally, Ajit Pawar's NCP. This means Mr Shinde has little choice but to vacate the Chief Minister post if the BJP asks for it.
It is this situation that Mr Thackeray referred to when he said Mr Shinde will have to "work under Fadnavis". The bungalow reference was also loaded because Mr Shinde will need to vacate Varsha, the official residence of the Maharashtra Chief Minister, if he is not in the top post. The bungalow mention has another connotation: it was the mutiny led by Mr Shinde that forced Uddhav Thackeray to leave Varsha after the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government fell.
