Congress upbeat even as Raut hints at Sena-NCP tie-up; says 'joined govt only to stop BJP'

The unease in MVA continued as Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole responded to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's barb on the Sonia Gandhi-led party's desire to go solo in the next Assembly election. Sanjay Raut had told the media on Thursday, "A friend in Maha Vikas Aghadi, state Congress chief Nana Patole said that they'll contest polls alone. They'll be a part of govt but contest alone. You can contest. Then the two remaining parties will think about what would they do together in the future". A few hours later, Patole reiterated his party's point of view.

On the Saamana executive editor's comment hinting at a possible Shiv Sena-NCP alliance, Nana Patole remarked, "It is good. I have put forth my party's point of view. The remaining parties can decide what they want to do."

Commenting on state NCP president Jayant Patil's opinion that all three parties should contest the next polls together, the ex-Assembly Speaker added, "When this government came into existence in Maharashtra, our leader Sonia Gandhi said that we are in the government to stop BJP. If someone doesn't understand this, it is not my party's fault. We have suffered a lot in the past. We have made our position clear to ensure that we don't suffer in the future."

MVA government formation and Congress unease

Despite winning a comfortable majority of its own in the 2019 Assembly election, NDA could not form the government over Shiv Sena's demand for the rotational CM post. After the imposition of the President's Rule in the State, BJP took a surprising step of joining hands with NCP's Ajit Pawar, who had reportedly promised the support of other legislators. However, the new Fadnavis-led government had to resign ahead of the SC-mandated floor test owing to the paucity of numbers. 

Subsequently, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray took oath as the CM of Maharashtra backed by new allies NCP and Congress on November 28, 2019. In the last few months, multiple Congress leaders including Balasaheb Thorat have expressed their concerns over their party being neglected in the coalition government. In May 2020, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had publicly stated that Congress was not the key decision-maker in Maharashtra.

Congress has locked horns with Shiv Sena over numerous issues including the demand to rename Aurangabad. On various occasions, Congress has made it clear that it would not hesitate to quit the Maharashtra government if anyone speaks against its leadership. Speculation about the marginalization of the Sonia Gandhi-led party gained more traction after NCP supremo Sharad Pawar reserved special praise for Shiv Sena recently describing it as a "party which one can trust".