Taming the tiger: The Hindu Editorial on change of guard in Maharashtra
The HinduThe formation of a new government in Maharashtra on Thursday, led by Eknath Shinde, followed a nail-biting and unique script. The Bharatiya Janata Party conceded the Chief Minister’s post to Mr. Shinde who led a revolt in the Shiv Sena to unseat Uddhav Thackeray. As it turned out, Mr. Thackeray, son of Sena founder Bal Thackeray, could not manage the turmoil that his daring to experiment triggered within the party. The MVA’s unravelling shows that the BJP’s ideology, backed with instruments of state power, and the capacity to mobilise resources, could railroad regional politics when the situation is favourable. Soon after the patriarch Thackeray’s passing in 2012, the BJP’s plans to gain an upper hand in its relations with the Sena began to roll out; by 2014 the party was ahead of the Sena.