No glue of power, LoP post row shows MVA cracks widening, harder to paper over | Political Pulse News,The Indian Express
With the NCP's Ajit Pawar claiming the post in the Assembly, the Congress felt it had as much of a right as the Sena to the LoP post in the Legislative Council.
The inherent differences in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition are coming to the fore now as, with power gone, there are few incentives for the three parties to hold together, and a shrinking pie to share between them.
This is one reason behind the open war of words between the Congress and Shiv Sena over the Leader of Opposition position in the Legislative Council. Congress state chief Nana Patole has claimed the Sena did not take it into confidence before announcing the name of Ambadas Danve. With the NCP’s Ajit Pawar claiming the post in the Assembly, the Congress felt it had as much of a right as the Sena to the LoP post in the Council.
Patole, not one to mince his words, went on to suggest that a break-up of the MVA might be inevitable.
Leaders point out that differences such as this within the three unlikely allies which came together to constitute the MVA are not new. In the entire two-and-a-half years that the MVA was in power, the Congress’s constant endeavour had been to ensure that it was not overshadowed by the Sena and NCP, with their much bigger numbers (while the Sena had 56 MLAs when the MVA government was formed, the NCP had 54 and the Congress 44).
The Congress had taken exception, for example, to its legislative wing leader and then Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat’s photo missing from government posters and advertisements containing images of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar of the NCP. The Congress also believed it was given a raw deal in the distribution of portfolios.
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