Dharmendra Jore: Match-fixings and strange political bedfellows

Sena president Uddhav Thackerayrsquos praise has rubbed both the BJP and the Congress the wrong way File picUddhav Thackeray played it smart and how Last week he brought the Congress into the news much to the chagrin of both the Congress and the BJP When the Sena president appreciated the former central Congress governmentrsquos performance and said he would never insult former PM Manmohan Singh the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi did in Parliament Congress leaders said they did not need the Senarsquos certificate fearing that it would lead to splitting of votes The BJP sees this as Uddhavrsquos deliberate effort to show the Congress in better light than the Modi government and called it a lsquofixed matchrsquo between the Congress and the SenaThackerayrsquos move was a calculated one and it caught his opponents off guard What he did was to affirm a popular perception that the Congress had always been content in conceding the BMC to the Sena even when the Gandhiled party was formidable Political historians recall several instances in which the Congressrsquo central and state leaderships discretely helped Sena founder late Bal Thackeray in reigning as Mumbairsquos undisputed champion In the recent past Congress CMs were much cosier in their approach to the Thackerays The bonhomie had always been a bone of contention and cause for criticismThis time what seems to have given Thackeray a lead in adopting a strategy very effective for those who foresee its undercurrent and effectiveness is a prompt rejoinder that it received from the Congress Looking at its list of candidates the Congress desperately needs voters from the antiSena camp say Muslims and north Indians because of multiple players in the frayOdd choiceWhom did one expect to deliver the Sena a strong response Interestingly it came from exCM Prithviraj Chavan who has been accused of being very supportive of the Thackerays And of course Chavan was accompanied by Sanjay Nirupam the president of Mumbai Congress exSena MP who is constantly put under the scanner by his party colleagues for being allegedly close to the Sena chieftainIn fact the BJP started it all when candidates of all parties were finalised Its Mumbai president Ashish Shelar alleged that the Congress and the Sena had a lsquomatchfixingrsquo in 42 of 227 wards He said weak candidates were given there to benefit either the Sena or the Congress and ensure the BJPrsquos loss The Sena and the Congress have denied allegations but have shirked from accepting the BJPrsquos challenge for debating the lsquofixingrsquo charges on a public platformWhere is the CongressLetrsquos assume that there is a tacit understanding between some parties for the BMC polls for toppling the BJP juggernaut The Sena and the Congress are the main players in this drama because the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS is on its way to oblivion The MNS had played a spoiler for the Sena allegedly at the behest of the ruling Congress then in the Lok Sabha and assembly pollsGoing by its mobilisation at the grassroots level the Sena is going very strong and the BJP is trying to close the gap through hard efforts There is method to their madness The unity of leadership is proving a driving force for workers and unilateral command centres in both the Sena and the BJP are effective when it comes to execution of tasksBut where does the Congress stand on these parameters It stands on a low perch because even smaller parties like the AIMIM are doing much better in terms of a unified campaign Away from media glare which is focused on the SenaBJP slugfest the rallies of Owaisi brothers have hit the audiences hard On the other hand Congress workers are divided in their approach method and campaign With the high commandrsquos priorities firmly placed elsewhere itrsquos a free run for local senior leaders Some leaders are not only working for their own candidates but also seeing to it that those associated with their rivals in the party do not winWhen asked about it a senior Congress leader said ldquoDo you know what we have established over the years Itrsquos a catch line that says lsquoonly Congress can beat Congressrsquo Most of the times we live up to the popular saying Winning doesnrsquot give us a kick but what ups our spirits is the defeat of rivals within the partyrdquoDharmendra Jore is political editor midday He tweets dharmendrajore Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom