What is wrong in Sharad Pawar meeting Amit Shah: Shiv Sena

Exactly seven weeks after he denied ever promising Uddhav Thackeray a rotational chief ministership during a prepoll meeting in 2019 at Matoshree Amit Shah on Sunday was at it again saying ldquoeverything need not be made publicrdquo when asked about a muchrumoured dinner meeting between him and NCP chief Sharad Pawar at a Gujarat industrialistrsquos invitationUnion Home Minister Amit ShahThe leaders were reportedly hosted by a common industrialist friend in Ahmedabad on Saturday night The NCP bossrsquo trusted lieutenant Praful Patel accompanied them said reports coming in from GujaratNCP spokesperson Nawab Malik was prompt in denying the meeting but BJP leaders including Shah neither denied nor confirmed it giving rise to speculation that the two parties were up to something Pawar was not available for comment because he had to be hospitalised for treatmentAmit Shahrsquos reply ldquoEverything need not be made publicrdquo added an element of suspense around the meeting Relying on Shahrsquos response BJP leaders in Maharashtra said the meeting did really take place ldquoWhy would Amitbhai say so He could have denied when asked if he met Pawarrdquo said state BJP president Chandrakant Patil who is seen as a close associate of ShahWould the BJP go with NCP yet again Patil said it is up to his party bosses to decide ldquoWhatever they say would be the Maharashtra BJPrsquos commandrdquo he addedChief Minister Uddhav Thackeray with NCP chief and MVA architect Sharad Pawar File picThe development shifted focus to the lsquofailed unionrsquo of the BJP and NCP in 2019 and its revival if need be In 2014 Pawar had declared unconditional support to the BJPrsquos minority government which the Sena joined a month laterDeepening trust deficitRemember a meeting in which Shah is said to have promised Uddhav Thackeray an equal share in power and the chief ministerrsquos post that later led to the SenaBJP break up Despite repeated reminders and allegations of betrayal from the Sena Shah neither confirmed nor denied the supposed promise He talked about the issue after the MVA completed a year in office denying giving an assurance Shah has followed the same strategy with regard to the dinner diplomacy with Pawar allowing others to deny or confirmThe three MVA partners are looking at each other with great suspicion and are expected to have a deepened trust deficit Citizens already stressed amid the pandemic have another reason to be perplexed and worriedUnion Home Minister Amit Shah File PicIn the past a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pawar took place in November 2019 when the MVA was about to take shape The two leaders were reported to have discussed the possibility of the alliance which didnrsquot materialise The revelations about this meeting came much later in some books and through BJP leaders who in 2019 had denied Shah making any promisesCommenting on Shahrsquos response Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said ldquoShah had said something like a closeddoor meeting between him Shah and Thackeray could not be made public but he spoke about it later at the inauguration of a medical college of Narayan Ranersquos in Sindhudurg in February this yearrdquoNCPBJPrsquos failed allianceIn 2019 formed with the NCPrsquos splinter group Devendra Fadnavisrsquo second government had failed to prove a majority NCPrsquos Ajit Pawar had taken the oath of deputy chief ministerrsquos office Ajit returned to his unclersquos camp with the same post and Pawar made Shiv Sena president Thackeray the CM But a lot of developments have happened since then It is said in political circles that the alliancersquos honeymoon period is over and a critical time has taken over the bonhomieOf late NCP and Sena are under fire in cases related to the explosives found in a car near industrialist Mukesh Ambanirsquos South Mumbai residence In over a monthrsquos time a criminal case has turned into a situation akin to a political crisis The MVA has thwarted the BJPrsquos attempts in the past but is left wanting on many fronts in the current scenario creating a blamegame between the partnersOut to seek advantage by projecting it as the perfect case for the MVA to fall BJP insiders have again started giving a new deadline for installing its government The ruling party in the Centre hasnrsquot stopped threatening a Presidentrsquos Rule over failing law and order and encouragement of corruption This especially in the police department with former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh approaching the court against state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh In the past central agencies have taken up investigations in some important cases and against some political individuals making the MVA accuse the Centre of a witchhuntSena speaksDoes the PawarShah meeting harm MVArsquos stability Raut didnrsquot see such a threat ldquoNothing will happen to this government It will rule for the full fiveyear term Political leaders cutting across parties do meet There is no secret about such meetings Pawar is one of the seniormost leaders of the country He may have issues of public importance to discuss with the Union Home Minister Whatrsquos wrong in itrdquo he said on MondayA senior Congress leader said the unpredictable NCP could do anything ldquoWe havenrsquot planned anything that can damage the MVA government But we canrsquot say the same for NCP because of its unpredictable naturerdquo he said