Team Clarion
MUMBAI – In a major blow to the opposition alliance, the Samajwadi Party on Saturday severed its relations with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra. Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi announced the decision alleging that the Shiv Sena (UBT) had adopted a “Hindutva agenda” following its recent defeat in the assembly election.
The Samajwadi Party is upset over the highly controversial social media post from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Milind Narvekar, a close aide of Uddhav Thackeray. He praised the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The post also carried a quote from Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, saying, “I am proud of those who did this,” along with photos of Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray.
Abu Azmi condemned the post, accusing the Uddhav faction of talking in the same language used by the BJP.
The split has occurred just weeks after the poor performance of the MVA in the state elections when the alliance could win only 46 seats, out of which two were SP winners. Officially, the SP has declared its exit. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has not made any statement on the issue so far.
After the electoral defeat, Uddhav Thackeray’s party has raised its voice more on the issues of Hindutva. It has referred to the Babri Masjid demolition as a historical moment. It claims that Bal Thackeray had played an important role in the incident and it regarded it as a landmark in its ideological journey. The SP, which is led by Azmi in Maharashtra, represents a constituency with a large population of Muslims. This creates a deepening of the ideological gap between the two parties.
“There was no coordination in the MVA during seat sharing and later in the campaign too. After the defeat in assembly polls, Uddhav Thackeray, in an internal meeting, told his leaders and party workers to aggressively pursue the Hindutva agenda. On December 6, the party posted a message on social media in favour of the Babri mosque demolition. We cannot tolerate this. So, we have decided not to continue with MVA,” Abu Azmi was quoted by The Hindustan Times as saying.
“An advertisement was given by Shiv Sena (UBT) in a newspaper congratulating those who demolished Babri Masjid. His (Uddhav Thackeray) aide has also posted on X hailing the demolition of the mosque,” news agency PTI quoted Abu Azmi as saying.
