Satara ZP polls expose cracks within Mahayuti: Shiv Sena (UBT)

The Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT on Wednesday said the recent elections to the posts of president and vice president of the Satara Zilla Parishad ZP have exposed internal rifts within Maharashtrarsquos ruling Mahayuti turning what was meant to showcase unity into an episode marked by violence and chaos the IANS reportedldquoWhat was supposed to be a standard democratic process devolved into a lsquocomedy dramarsquo reminiscent of the old Marathi film lsquoAshi Hi Sataryachi Tanharsquo This is the Way of Satara but with a much darker tone Witnesses reported a significant physical altercation between ministers who publicly present themselves as lsquobrothersrsquo in the same governmentrdquo the Shiv Sena UBT said in SaamanaThackeray camp alleges minister roughed up by policeIn a scathing editorial in its mouthpiece the Thackeray camp claimed that Shiv Sena minister Shambhuraj Desai was allegedly roughed up by police personnel acting under the orders of a rival faction within his own alliance Desai arrived at the legislature visibly injured claiming that the police had dragged him and that ldquodemocracy has been murderedrdquoldquoDespite the Shinde and Ajit Pawar factions holding a clear majority BJP ministers Shivendraraje and Jaykumar Gore reportedly executed a localised lsquoOperation Lotusrsquordquo it claimed the news agency reportedAllegations of crossvoting voter suppression and police intimidationThe editorial further alleged that key tactics used to secure the ZP presidency included engineering defections voter suppression and police intimidation ldquoTwo members of the Shinde faction were reportedly induced to crossvote while two others were allegedly prevented from voting altogether Plainclothes police were reportedly used to create an atmosphere of tension and forcibly remove opposing officialsrdquo it saidAccording to the editorial minister Shambhuraj Desai the grandson of the ldquoLion of Satarardquo Balasaheb Desai was dragged away by plainclothes police Injured and bleeding he cried out ldquoDemocracy has been murderedrdquo While Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde echoed these concerns Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his police department allegedly paid no attentionSena UBT mocks allies as lsquomeowingrsquo during legislature protestldquoWhile MLAs of the ruling Shiv Sena and NCP protested on the steps of the legislature BJP MLAs and ministers reportedly ignored them entirely Ministers like Gulabrao Patil who usually growl when in power were seen lsquomeowingrsquo in protest on the steps Even a cat strikes back in defence but these leaders preferred merely sitting on the stepsrdquo the editorial remarkedldquoThese individuals previously left the Shiv Sena with the BJPrsquos help an act that was also a lsquomurder of democracyrsquo yet they felt nothing then They claimed to have joined the BJP for lsquoselfrespect and Hindutvarsquo but the Satara incident makes it clear they have been reduced to subordinates Those who used the police as a tool of lsquomobocracyrsquo to split the Shiv Sena and grab power now have no right to complain when those same police are used against themrdquo the Thackeray camp said IANS reportedThe Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena said the incident has sparked a broader debate about political culture in Satara and Maharashtra ldquoHistorically Satara was a leader in the freedom struggle known for its discipline and culture However corrupt politics has replaced that rugged simplicity with hooliganism and the region is now being characterised by lsquomob rulersquo and lsquocorrupt powerseekingrsquo As the saying goes lsquoAs is the king so are the subjectsrsquo today ministers fight in the streets and use the police for bullyingrdquo it addedThe ldquocentre of this mobocracyrdquo is now the legislature itself where those who allegedly subvert democracy now sit in power the editorial saidWith IANS inputs