Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Differences between Sena and BJP will only benefit Congress' that was published in Newsband

Differences between Sena and BJP will only benefit Congress

Shiv Sena’s activists forced the cancellation of a concert by Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali in Mumbai, smeared black paint on ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni for organising a release function for a book by former Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, stormed the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai where board president Shashank Manohar was to meet Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shahryar Khan, made things difficult for Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis,  with Saamna, the Sena mouthpiece, attacking the BJP and party chief Uddhav Thackeray using his traditional Vijaya Dasami address to the party faithful to lash out against the Central government etc.

After all these dramas, is it possible that Sena and BJP will break all its ties? The important thing is that Sena draws its support base largely from the backward castes and the party challenges brahminical notions of purity. This attitude can sever Sena’s alliance with the BJP.

Sena thinks of (Maharashtra) state while BJP thinks of the Center. Sena seems to be scared of its very survival. Even Raj Thackeray being an antagonist, there is nobody to turn to. Hence they resort to all these mindless outbursts. But how long can one survive with 'hate politics'? Sena can prolong its end only by merger with BJP.

Both BJP and Sena should try to shift the focus towards development agenda. If they are in partnership, they have the potential and talent to fight against poverty, corruption. They can utilize their strength in developing health and education sector instead of fighting against each other the first day and getting back together the very next day. They have five years in hands to fulfill the promises they made but if they go on this way then it will be Congress who will benefit most.

Of late Uddhav Thackeray is in the process of perfection to turn out to be another Bala Saheb in the country, when the BJP is diluting its core values of Hindutva for sheer object of remaining in power like the Congress did. Fringe parties like Shiv Sena, MNS etc are "spur of the moment parties" who have no long term agenda and they are not guided by any principles. Even though the DMK and such Dravidian parties did come up without any specific long term agenda, as they (like the Sena) relied only on a sort of militancy and destructive methods, the Dravidian parties quickly steadied themselves to look at State Development issues as the most important need, and that helped them consolidate and even throw out Congress, virtually decimating them now for over thirty years. If the Sena wishes to make a mark, they need to look at Maharashtra State rather than indulge in some meaningless spur of the moment ideas and concepts that have no relevance to the needs of the people.

The wrong attempt by the BJP to court such a party would affect the BJP more than the fringe parties - the fringe gaining and the BJP losing ground.. But without any long term Socio-economic agenda, the Sena and the like cannot move forward.

Sena has not been known to be consistent in its policies since the senior Thackeray also. It formulates policies for immediate rabble-rousing among its constituents. The BJP will have to be cautious about it and not let the Sena have more political space, either in local bodies or in the government.