Togetherness, BJP-Sena style

Within the BJPShinde Sena alliance both parties are partners in the government But when it comes to winning voters they are still competingThis competition has become particularly visible on the question of Marathi identity During last yearrsquos BMC election campaign there was huge uproar and a sharp war of words between the BJP and the other proMarathi parties over issues of Marathi identity and language While the other parties openly attacked the BJP the BJP largely played a careful balancing game defending Marathi while ensuring that its nonMarathi voter base did not feel ignoredThe latest example is the Maharashtra governmentrsquos decision to give auto and taxi drivers another year to comply with the rules of mandatorily having basic knowledge of the local Marathi languageOn paper it is an administrative decision Politically however it could be a useful win for the BJP over the Shinde SenaEknath Shindersquos political strength still depends heavily on the Marathi voter But that vote is no longer a straightforward bloc Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray are likely to attack the government on Marathi identityrelated issuesThe BJP has a broader electoral base including Marathi North Indian and Gujarati voters This gives it more room to look beyond the Marathi vote while the Shinde Sena remains more dependent on it Drivers had been asking for more time to understand the new requirements and complete the necessary formalities The transport department headed by Pratap Sarnaik of the Shindeled Shiv Sena was not willing to extend the deadline furtherWhen Sarnaik was asked about giving drivers more time he had indicated that sufficient time had already been given and that another postponement could not be consideredChief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has now stepped in and given them one year For the drivers this is relief For the BJP it is also an opportunityBut the timing of the decision is what makes it politically interesting The extension came after a delegation led by a transport wing of the BJP met Fadnavis and sought relief for the drivers If an extension was genuinely required why wait until the RTO had started taking action against drivers It could have been announced earlierMore importantly the transport department is headed by Sarnaik yet the BJP delegation went directly to the CM and secured the reliefThe important question is not only who got the relief but who gets the political creditThe transport ministry is with the Shinde Sena yet the final decision came from Fadnavis A driver worried about meeting the deadline may simply remember that the CM gave him another yearThat makes the episode look less like a routine administrative correction and more like a small but carefully timed political masterstroke by the BJP It allows the BJP to step in provide relief to a section of voters and claim the political goodwillThe decision becomes more significant because a substantial section of Mumbairsquos auto and taxi drivers comes from North India They are an important part of the cityrsquos workingclass population and a constituency the BJP has worked hard to cultivate The timing also matters Uttar Pradesh will go to the Assembly polls in 2027 and North Indian voters remain an important part of the BJPrsquos national support baseThis does not mean the extension was given because of the UP election That would be too simplistic But the BJP has little reason to ignore an opportunity to strengthen its relationship with this voter groupThe BJP therefore gets a useful brownie point over its alliance partner without openly criticising itAnd that may be the larger political message Shinde is trying to strengthen this position in Maharashtra and expand his political space particularly among Marathi voters His growing political visibility and popularity can become a challenge for the BJP in the longer run The BJP therefore has little reason to surrender political space to its own alliance partnerNo wonder even when the BJP and Shinde faction of Shiv Sena are government partners when it comes to winning voters they are still competitorsAnd on the autotaxi issue at least the BJP appears to have taken the driverrsquos seatAs I write my last column for this newspaper at least for now I want to say thank you to my readers for patiently reading my columns whether they agreed with me or not I carry with me deep respect and gratitude for this journey For now it is goodbye to this column but hopefully not to the readersSanjeev Shivadekar is political editor midday He tweets SanjeevShivadekSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper