Mumbai: In the home state of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Dalit leader Ramdas Athawale has made an electoral pact with the BJP. It easily got him a Rajya Sabha membership before the Lok Sabha polls and now eight seats in the Assembly elections. However, this move is not being welcomed by many Dalit organizations in Maharashtra. There are chances of Dalit forces disintegrating further in the Assembly elections.
In a tussle between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray, the executive president of the Shiv Sena in a public meeting offered Athawale the deputy chief ministership in an effort to unite the Shiv Sena and Bhim Sena. It was expected that Athawale would side with the Shiv Sena, as it is a mass based party similar to the Dalit organizations and more liberal compared to the BJP. Moreover, it was Shiv Sena, which made all out efforts to convince Athawale to join the saffron fold with the singular objective of defeating the NCP-Congress Government. In Mahayuti (mega alliance) Athawale was an active partner and contributed considerably to the victory of the BJP in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
Although Athawale joined the alliance, he has maintained good relations with the NCP leader, Sharad Pawar. According to some political observers, Athawale made the pact with the BJP on the advice of Pawar. Even as the alliance was taking shape, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan announced the first list of the Congress candidates. It prompted Pawar to send Athawale to New Delhi to meet with the top brass of the BJP. This visit hastened the process of the BJP-Shiv Sena split. However, Athawale claims that he wants to take the advantage by going with the ruling party at the Centre. He said that it would help the welfare of the Dalit and they will get some economic and political benefits.
Nevertheless, in the political fight between BJP and Shiv Sena, Athawale has remained as the primary beneficiary who might be made a Union minister. It is also important to note that Athawale got the Rajya Sabha seat from the BJP quota recently. Despite his efforts for the welfare of the Dalits, Athawale is considered a self-seeking leader. It seems that in the coming days a major split in the Republican Party of India (RPI) is expected.
Sajeev Unhale is a former executive editor of Marathi newspaper Lokmat, Aurangabad. He writes for IBNLive on Maharashtra Assembly elections
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