'As lifts don't have walls...': Uddhav on chance encounter with Maha Dy CM Fadnavis in Vidhan Sabha

Amid tensions over seat-sharing in both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, former allies Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis met by chance in the state Assembly. Thackeray and Fadnavis can be seen talking to each other while waiting for a lift, as per a viral video on social media. 

After the video caused much speculation across social media, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said that this was a "meeting by coincidence". He further said jocularly that he will do discreet meetings in elevators as they don't have walls.

"I met Devendra Fadnavis in an elevator. It was a meeting by coincidence. You must be thinking its 'na na karte pyaar tumhi se kar baithe'. But that's not true. It's said that walls have ears, henceforth I'll do discreet meetings in elevators as lifts don't have walls," he said. 

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, however, gave the chance encounter of the two former allies an entirely different twist. Shinde said, "Two years ago, they (Uddhav Thackeray and team) took a different lift and went to the Congress. We took one that carried us to the people."

Shinde was alluding to the split in the Shiv Sena in June 2022 following a rebellion he led in the erstwhile undivided Shiv Sena. Things ended between the undivided Shiv Sena and the BJP, which were seen as natural allies, after the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections.

Following this, Uddhav joined hands with the Congress and the NCP to form the state government in Maharashtra. The coalition government, however, collapsed like a house of cards in June 2022 when Eknath Shinde led a rebellion in the party and walked away with a majority of MLAs.

He then joined the forces with the BJP and formed the state government. This resulted in a split in the Shiv Sena and Shinde's faction bagged the party symbol and name. 

Tug of war over seat-sharing in Assembly polls

Beyond the chance meeting and the reference to the Shiv Sena split, the ruling Mahayuti bloc is embroiled in a tug of war over seat-sharing in the upcoming assembly elections. Senior Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam criticised the BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP for the Mahayuti's dismal show in the Lok Sabha polls.

He further said the Shiv Sena could have won all 15 seats had their candidates been announced 2 months before the elections just like the BJP did. Kadam went ahead an accused the BJP of interference, which he says led to the loss of seats like Nashik, Hingoli and Yavatmal. 

NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar also said that the BJP might want Ajit Pawar's NCP to contest the coming assembly elections separately to cause a setback to the Opposition. He also claimed that the BJP might offer Ajit Pawar only 20 of the 288 assembly seats and the latter could walk out of the Mahayuti alliance. 

Not only the Mahayuti, seat-sharing talks have become fractious even in the MVA. While NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil said that MVA allies should refrain from naming a CM candidate and focus on returning to power in the state, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut begged to differ. 

Raut said, "It will be risky to face Assembly polls without a CM face. Maharashtra has seen the good work done by Uddhav Thackeray as a Chief Minister during his tenure from 2019 to 2022." Maharashtra Congress state president Nana Patole, on the other hand, claimed that the grand old party emerged as the dominant force in the state and will contest 150 seats in the upcoming assembly polls.