Buzz of early dissolution of Maharashtra Assembly

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, February 8

Talk of an early dissolution of the Maharashtra Assembly is gathering steam with leaders of both the ruling and the opposition fronts asking party workers to prepare for simultaneous polls to parliament as well as state legislature.

While BJP president Amit Shah asked party workers in Jalna last week to begin working for simultaneous elections, its alliance partner the Shiv Sena has gone a step further: it is now identifying candidates for some of the 288 seats in the assembly. The Shiv Sena is keen on simultaneous elections to prevent “back-stabbing” by the BJP. Several of its leaders feel that the BJP may betray the Shiv Sena yet again before the assembly polls like it did in 2014 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi government bagged absolute majority in Parliament.

Simultaneous elections would give plenty of bargaining power to the Shiv Sena, it is felt.

Maharashtra Assembly’s term ends in October.

The rumbling in the Shiv Sena camp has already created a sense of urgency among the opposition parties.

On Thursday night, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Chavan told party workers in Aurangabad that the party should prepare for simultaneous polls.

Chavan said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would dissolve the state legislature after presenting the state budget on February 28. The Nationalist Congress Party also said such a decision was possible.

Though Fadnavis debunked Chavan's claim, leaders in the BJP feel that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray may be pushing for dissolution before sitting down for seat-sharing talks with the national party.

Officially, the Shiv Sena blames the BJP for not starting seat-sharing negotiations.