Fresh face-off over ‘CM face’ in Maha Vikas Aghadi, seniors advise caution

Mumbai: As the Maharashtra Assembly elections near, the prickly question of who would be the ‘CM face’ keeps popping up regularly among the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, which are hoping to dislodge the ruling MahaYuti government after the October polls.

The issue has again cropped up indicating 'differences' among the top MVA leaders of the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT), all feeling buoyant after the good showing in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

The latest verbal war on ‘CM face’ erupted after SS (UBT) President and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray’s recent three-day sojourn in New Delhi where he met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, besides NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar.

SS (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has called for going to the polls with a ‘CM face’ to counter the MahaYuti more effectively, but Congress’ Prithviraj Chavan is averse to any such proposal, while NCP (SP) state President Jayant R. Patil diplomatically said that first the MahaYuti should announce its CM nominee.

Chavan stuck to his earlier stance, spelt out by other leaders as well, that among the three main allies, whichever party elects the maximum MLAs should be the claimant for the CM post.

The overall MVA position has been that the alliance is powerful and the CM shall be decided with mutual consultations after the Assembly elections.

Indirectly rooting for Thackeray as the ‘CM face’, Raut contended that had Rahul Gandhi been projected as the ‘PM face’ of the INDIA bloc during the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led NDA would have been vanquished.

“Uddhav Thackeray and Rahul Gandhi are the only two leaders who have been boldly raising their voices against the Centre’s policies for many years. It was only after Rahul Gandhi accepted the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha that people's confidence got a boost. I feel there has to be a ‘CM face’ for the Maharashtra Assembly elections,” Raut said.

In New Delhi a couple of days ago, when Thackeray was asked the question, he seemed open to the suggestion, saying: “If my (MVA) colleagues feel I have done good work, ask them if they want me to be the CM… In the end, the people will decide.”

Aware that the ‘CM face’ issue could create hurdles or upheavals in the MVA during the crucial seat-sharing talks or while deciding on a common manifesto, senior leaders from all three allies have advised their colleagues to maintain restraint.

An NCP (SP) leader has even said that they should wait for the strategy of the MahaYuti which is also suffering from a similar predicament.