With weeks left for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the question of 'CM face' in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance persists and it is a debate that continues to dominate talks among its constituents. The MVA is an alliance of Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena UBT, coming together with a view to defeating the ruling MahaYuti government decisively in the elections slated for October this year.
The issue has resurfaced amid indications of apparent disagreement among the top leadership of the MVA coalition, particularly in the wake of its good show in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
The controversy re-erupted after the recent visit of Shiv Sena UBT President and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to New Delhi. He met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, LoP Rahul Gandhi, and NCP President Sharad Pawar.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut pitched for selecting a 'CM face' to take on the MahaYuti effectively. Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, however, opposed it. On his part, NCP state President Jayant R. Patil said the MahaYuti should first announce its own CM nominee.
In fact, Chavan and other leaders have repeatedly said that the party winning the highest number of MLAs between the three partners should get the Chief Minister's job.
At present, the MVA has taken a stand that the alliance is going strong and the question of the chief minister would be decided by mutual agreement after the Assembly elections.
Raut, indirectly backing Thackeray as the potential 'CM face,' argued that had Rahul Gandhi been projected as the 'PM face' of the INDIA bloc in the recent Lok Sabha elections, then probably the BJP-led NDA would have been defeated.
"Uddhav Thackeray and Rahul Gandhi are the only two leaders who have strongly opposed Centre's policies. His election as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha had brought back the confidence of the people. We want a clear 'CM face' for Maharashtra Assembly elections," Raut said.
Asked about the 'CM face' in New Delhi a few days ago, Thackeray showed inclination towards the idea, saying, "If my colleagues from MVA think I have done a good job, they should raise the question, whether I am the right person for the CM post. The final decision will be of the people".
As the debate over the 'CM face' could confuse negotiations on seat sharing or framing a common manifesto, senior leaders from all the three parties have asked their teams to tread with caution.
An NCP leader suggested that they bide their time and watch the strategy of the MahaYuti which is also facing the same dilemma.
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