Counter-edit: Why Shiv Sena must not succumb to temptation of joining a BJP govt

Mumbai : Hungering for power after 15 years on Opposition benches, the Shiv Sena seems to be wolfing down humble pie. Monday’s editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamna, heaping praise on Amit Shah for the BJP’s “win”, is a far cry from the self congratulatory observation, on the morning after counting, that it had robbed the BJP of a clear win.

Monday’s editorial is a publicly offered olive branch — but Sena leaders have also been accepting in private that the party’s stand on taking the BJP head-on is in the process of unravelling.

While it appears increasingly likely that the Sena will make a delayed entry into the Maharashtra government following negotiations, the arguments for it to refrain from doing so appears compelling. Here’s why the Sena might want to stay off the gravy train for now:

1. For the sake of the future: The decision to go it alone was not based only on who gets to be chief minister. Some hard-nosed analysis had produced the conclusion that ceding seats to the BJP carried with it a real danger of the national juggernaut destroying the smaller party, even if it was an ally of 25 years. The Sena has grown from 44 MLAs to 63 — despite the fact that the party has always had limited presence outside Mumbai and Konkan, and it has come in the face of the BJP’s exceedingly well-oiled election machinery, with a starcast of campaigners led by the Prime Minister himself.

2. To not be seen as having sold out: The voice of the average Shiv Sainik is different from the voice of the small group within the party that stands to gain from entering the government. The Marathi manoos who found appeal in the Shiv Sena’s Marathi versus Gujarati pitch, even if it appears to be bringing diminishing returns, would no doubt see the party’s decision to join the government as a sellout.

3. To give Uddhav a chance: If the huge turnouts at his election rallies and some emotional, rousing speeches were any indication, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has come of age. He has steered the Sena to a position where it is currently the only regional party to have withstood the BJP’s electoral might. In the Opposition, he would hold the moral high ground — not only over the discredited Congress and NCP, but also over the BJP that would require the NCP to abstain on every legislation or policy matter. This could be an opportunity — and a force-multiplier — for the Sena.

4. Because the gains aren’t that much: There are minimal gains from being in power. Issues of urban development that the Sena has been unable to tackle effectively in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation could get a leg-up.