After Shinde meets Amit Shah, opposition alleges he fears BJP will split his party

Congress Maharashtra state president Harshwardhan Sapkal even claimed on Wednesday night that Eknath Shinde is afraid that the BJP plans to split his Sena and get his MLAs to join the BJP, even as Shinde was in Delhi, meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah the same evening.

After he met with Amit Shah in Delhi, Shinde told media persons, “I met Amit Shah to congratulate him for his victory in the Bihar elections. Also, I am not the one to listen to complaints. I am not one to cry, but to fight. We do not bring small and big disputes in the state to the national level. While I was meeting Amit Shah inside, you (media persons) began flying kites outside. Every party should take care that there are no differences anywhere in the Mahayuti”.However, it is learnt that as soon as it was known that Deputy CM Eknath Shinde left for Delhi to meet Shah, a meeting was held between Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at the CM’s ‘Varsha’ residence in South Mumbai. Sources said that they discussed what steps to take if Eknath Shinde’s discontent increases. Some opposition leaders even said that even if Deputy CM Eknath Shinde walks out of the BJP-led Mahayuti, it would make no difference to Fadnavis because the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has enough MLAs to run the alliance very comfortably, hinting that Fadnavis already has such a contingency plan in mind, just in case Shinde springs any nasty surprises.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) opposition parties have indicated that the BJP is pushing Deputy CM Eknath Shinde to a situation where he will be left with no other options other than merging his Shiv Sena with the BJP “voluntarily” or face a split in his party, which would leave Shinde with even fewer options. Opposition figures also hinted that it is precisely because Shinde will be left with fewer options that he may choose not to spring any surprises.

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“Fadnavis does not want Shinde doing anything before the Maharashtra local civic body elections. Until local civic body elections are over, he will keep Shinde happy. But after the local civic body elections are over in January 2026, the situation will be totally different,” an opposition leader said.

Both opposition leaders and Shinde-led Sena leaders began talking after Deputy CM Eknath Shinde met Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night. Shinde-led Shiv Sena leaders stated that Eknath Shinde complained about “some ministers” creating difficulties for his party, as well as Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis making Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray the chairman of the Balasaheb Thackeray Memorial Committee, going against Shinde’s pleas.

Shinde-led Shiv Sena men also attributed all their misfortunes to BJP leader Ravindra Chavan, a businessman called Mohit Kamboj who is close to the BJP and a retired bureaucrat called Shrikar Pardeshi, who is the secretary to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Shinde’s men alleged that BJP leader Ravindra Chavan has lured their party workers in Thane-Dombivali region and Ulhasnagar to the BJP, while businessman Mohit Kamboj and retired bureaucrat Shirkar Pardeshi have being accused of micromanaging Shinde’s ministers and even starving Shinde’s MLAs as well as ministers of funds, with the intention of making their voters feel like Shinde’s MLAs are not carrying out any developmental work.

After Deputy CM Eknath Shinde returned to Mumbai, Shinde ordered his men to stop BJP men from joining the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Shinde has instructed his office bearers that nothing should be done to displease the BJP-led Mahayuti. It is learnt that some BJP men from Thane, Ratnagiri, Marathwada, Navi Mumbai and Raigad had expressed their wish to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, but due to Shinde’s instructions, that is unlikely to happen.

According to Shinde-led Shiv Sena sources, Deputy CM Shinde told Amit Shah that though there are strong prospects for the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, “some leaders” are trying to “pollute” that environment. Due to this, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) opposition takes advantage of the situation while unnecessary and contradictory news comes out in the media, confusing the people.

Shinde also told Shah that, due to these reasons, there is confusion among workers and office bearers of the Mahayuti. Therefore, the possibility of unnecessary obstacles being created in the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance’s victory in Maharashtra’s local civic body elections cannot be ruled out. Shinde told Shah that “Some leaders are working for personal gain. We should take care that they do not work in such a manner in the future. Also, the leaders of alliance partners should avoid criticising each other. Everyone must exercise restraint and harmony while making comments”.

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