NEW DELHI: The newly elected chief minister of Maharashtra may have won majority on the floor of assembly on Wednesday, but the controversy arising out of the win by voice vote shall not only linger for long; it is certain to make chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's path much tougher than the BJP might have thought.

Having won 122 seats out of 288 in recent assembly elections, the NCP with strength of 41 MLAs with an assurance of unconditional support and with the support of 9 independents, Fadnavis had solid support of 172 members, much more than 145 required to prove majority. Yet, he shied away from putting the motion to vote, giving handle to both Shiv Sena and the Congress who called it a 'black day' in the history of Maharashtra legislature.

Minutes before the commencement of the session, all parties arrived at a consensus to elect the BJP nominee Haribhau Bagade as the Speaker. Once this was achieved, the BJP lost no time in turning the tables on Shiv Sena, who had occupied opposition benches. As the proceedings began, BJP leader Ashish Shelar read out one line motion of confidence which was put to voice vote. The speaker Bagade declared that it was won by those chanting Ayes. Members of Shiv Sena rushed to the well demanding that the motion be put to vote creating further commotion. As if to assuage the feelings of the Sena, Begde made second announcement that Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde was elected as the leader of opposition. Meanwhile, NCP legislatures continued to enjoy the scene. NCP chose to keep its strategy secret, as to whether it would support the government; abstain or participate in voting.

That 'No Confidence' motion cannot be brought against the government for the next 6 months may give temporary comfort to Fadnavis, but the question of ethics still remains unanswered. Would Mr.Fadnavis, who as a leader of BJP led the crusade against NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare for their alleged involvement in number of scams dare to take on them? Fadnavis, an honest man, but a political novice may not be able to match the Machiavellian politics of Sharad Pawar, who has given a new twist to politics in the state. Though, BJP - Shiv Sena and Congress - NCP alliances have come to an end, Pawar continues to hold political strings, making Shiv Sena and BJP dance to his tunes.

The situation is similar to what was happening Delhi six months ago. During assembly election campaign the AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal had called the Congress, 'a party of most corrupt people,' yet, he took its support to form and run the short lived government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi went a step further and had called the NCP as 'Nationalist Corrupt Party', yet, the BJP had to take support of the NCP to survive its own government in Maharashtra. This certainly, has brought entrenched opponents Shiv Sena and Congress on one platform. Together, they can prove to be a real headache for Fadnavis as they have combined strength of 105 MLAs.

The question, as to whether BJP would be able cobble up majority by splitting Shiv Sena, depends on the combined skills of BJP's president Amit Shah and Fadnavis. As of today, much humiliated Shiv Sena looks determined to take on the BJP. Secondly, there is no open dissent against Sena Supremo Uddhav Thackeray. However, Sena has not yet dared to break off all its relations with the NDA. It's nominee Anant Geete continues to be minister of heavy industries at the Centre, keeping a rare window open for any possible dialogue.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis faces number of challenges, immediate of which is the severe drought conditions in Marathwada. Out of 76 tehsils of the region, as many as 31 tehsils are facing drought due to paucity of rains. The total loan burden of the state has reached an all time high to Rs.3 lakh crores; farmers in Vidarbha, the home of Fadanvis continue to be in distress. The power shortage has become chronic. These and other problems related to governance may take most of his time.

After taking oath of office, Fadnavis assured that he would give a transparent government, but his hobnobbing with the NCP may rob him of his very objective. Similarly, possibility of Shiv Sena joining the government in the near future seems even more remote in today's strained circumstances.

(Vijay Naik is the Consulting Editor, Sakal Papers, Delhi)

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