Governor’s Quota: Who doesn’t want Raju Shetty, Eknath Khadse?
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, his deputy Ajit Pawar and revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat called on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan a few days ago. Contrary to the expectations, the media reports were about the exclusion of at least two names- Raju Shetty and Eknath Khadse and not about the delay in nominating 12 members to the state legislative council.
Several eyebrows were raised when the news channels beamed the names since Shetty had aligned with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) after snapping ties with the BJP and Khadse joined the Sharad Pawar-led NCP after quitting the BJP.
Reasoning behind exclusion
The possible exclusion has two sides- first, the objections raised by Raj Bhavan and secondly, NCP’s decision to do away with these two names. It is not known if the MVA was vigorously pushing for the names to be cleared. It is because CM Thackeray and NCP supremo Pawar rarely comment publicly on the issue. Thackeray’s decision to avoid any comment could be due to a fact that the issue of nominations exclusively comes under the domain of the governor and unless he signs, notification cannot be issued. Probably due to this reason he has left it to party MP Sanjay Raut to comment.
Pawar, on the other hand, is a very seasoned leader who is aware of all the nitty-gritty involved with the governor’s quota. A strong possibility could be that he only advised the government to forward the list as a resolution of the state cabinet, which should be binding on the governor to approve as it is. But the governor did not budge since there is little or no scope for the cabinet to recommend such a list.
BJP opposing a few names
Speculations are that the BJP has strong reservations over a few names due to political reasons and Koshyari, being the hard-core BJP man, has been exercising his prerogative to deal with the issue. It’s a known fact that BJP is opposing Khadse’s nomination. There is another angle to the BJP’s opposition- the 12 new entrants to the state council will increase the strength of the ruling party where BJP has a sizable number.
Raju Shetty could have got the wind of his name being dropped. Probably this could have led him to launch an agitation against the MVA government. Politicians are smart to know which direction the wind is blowing.
When Governor Koshyari was in Pune recently, he was asked about the delay over clearing the nominations. To which he said why you are anxious when the government does not appear in a hurry. This reply means a lot and is quite indicative that much water has flown down under the bridge ever since the list reached Raj Bhavan. Soon, this became evident when deputy CM Ajit Pawar, emerging after the meeting with the governor, said, those who lost the election cannot be considered for the governor’s quota. But we are verifying if it was a norm, he said. With this, it became clear that something was amiss as Shetty lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Hatkanangle.
Keeping Shetty in MVA- a necessity
The political alliances are made out of compulsions. There are generally three types of political compromises or alliances – to fight against a formidable political enemy, to stop the division of votes and increase chances of winning, or to form a government to reach a magic figure (of majority). After Raju Shetty decided to snap ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the NCP and the Congress started wooing him. This is because Shetty had caused a lot of trouble to the NCP and the Congress in Kolhapur and Sangli districts.
He spearheaded several agitations on the issues of fair and remunerative price (FRP) of sugarcane and milk to farmers and those were against the sugar and milk cooperative units run by mighty politicians from NCP and Congress. His decision to shift his agitation to Baramati, the hometown of Sharad Pawar, had surprised many and it was said that Congress in general and the then Cooperation Minister Harshwardhan Patil, in particular, were behind this move. But Shetty’s decision had antagonized Pawar senior so much so that once he denounced Shetty by referring to his caste.
Despite this, Shetty aligned with MVA mainly to settle political scores with Devendra Fadnavis and Sadabhau Khot, his colleague and a close friend turned foe. But MVA has very little to offer to Shetty since the Hatkanangale Lok Sabha constituency he used to represent is now with the Shiv Sena. It is unlikely that Shiv Sena will part with this seat to mollycoddle Shetty. For NCP, offering anything to strengthen Shetty’s political base means increasing his nuisance value particularly in Kolhapur and Sangli belt where NCP has high stakes.
MVA can not pamper Shetty
Even the Shirol Assembly constituency, once represented by Shetty is currently with Rajendra Patil Yadravkar, a staunch supporter of Pawar. The seat was allocated to Swabhimani Paksha of Shetty in the 2019 Assembly elections, but Yadravkar fought as a rebel and won. If Shetty’s political strength increases, the political equations of Shirol, neighboring Islampur, and other assembly constituencies along with Hatkanangale Lok Sabha can change.
Islampur is led by NCP state president and water resources minister Jayant Patil and both he and Shetty are bitter critics of each other. Shetty seems to have strong doubt that it was Patil who played an important role in clipping his wings. To avoid any damage, NCP chief Pawar and Patil clarified immediately that Shetty’s name has indeed been forwarded to Raj Bhavan. But the decision was with the governor.
BJP’s political gains
The BJP cannot be more than happy to encash such a political clamor in MVA. Shetty’s disenchantment can further disturb political equations in South Maharashtra and his agitation can increase it further. The BJP must be waiting for Shetty’s name to be eliminated in the final round of nominations.
The BJP may not prefer to have Eknath Khadse in the state council, who can create trouble on the floor of the house. If nominated to the council it will be Khadse’s political revival. Being an old guard, he can raise a lot of issues against his alma mater. The NCP, by inducting Khadse, wanted to disrupt the BJP cadre in Jalgaon. But now things have changed and Khadse, along with his family members are facing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation. At this juncture, Khadse’s name cannot be approved and NCP can replace it with another.
For NCP, expanding a base in the Jalgaon district is no longer a problem since prominent BJP leaders from the district are currently facing a CID probe for financial dealings in a cooperative credit society. Both Shetty and Khadse were politically indispensable names at one time. Today the scene is different. So, who exactly wants their names excluded from the list- MVA or the BJP?