Sanjay Raut, a leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), charged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with using the strategy of divide and rule to separate the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) this year and the Shiv Sena last year in Maharashtra.
Seeking to make light of the NCP leader Ajit Pawar breaking away from the Sharad Pawar-led party, he said the Opposition Maha Vikas Agahdi (MVA) will nevertheless go ahead strongly in the state.
Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-BJP government as deputy chief minister along with eight other MLAs of his camp on July 2, dealing a blow to the Opposition bloc, which comprises the Congress, the NCP (Pawar faction) and the Shiv Sena (UBT).
The senior Pawar spoke to Uddhav Thackeray on the phone, according to Raut, a fervent BJP critic, and Congress leaders visited with him on Tuesday to offer their support following the split in his party.
He said Delhi’s Sultan, a reference to the BJP, is enjoying the political game in Maharashtra, while Marathas, the most dominant social group in the state, are fighting among themselves, alluding to upheaval in the Shiv Sena last year and in the NCP now.
Divide and rule is the BJP’s policy. They engineered a split in the Shiv Sena and a party which was like a family was pitted against each other. Ajit Pawar has been pitted against Sharad Pawar. Divide and rule was a British policy, Raut said.