As Part Of Its “Divide And Rule” Strategy, The BJP Engineered Splits In The Sena And NCP, Says Raut

Sanjay Raut, a Rajya Sabha member for the Shiv Sena (UBT), charged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday of using the strategy of “divide and rule” to separate the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) this year and the Shiv Sena last year in Maharashtra.

In an effort to make fun of NCP leader Ajit Pawar leaving the Sharad Pawar-led party, he said that the opposition Maha Vikas Agahdi (MVA) would still campaign vigorously in the state.

On July 2, Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs from his camp joined the Eknath Shinde-BJP administration as deputy chief ministers, giving a blow to the Opposition group made up of the Congress, the NCP (Pawar faction), and the Shiv Sena (UBT).

The older Pawar talked to Uddhav Thackeray over the phone, according to Raut, a fervent BJP critic, and Congress leaders visited with him on Tuesday to offer their support after the split in his party.

He referred to the BJP as “Delhi’s Sultan” and stated that while Marathas, the state’s most significant socioeconomic group, are fighting among themselves, the BJP is enjoying the political game in Maharashtra. He was referring to internal strife between the Shiv Sena last year and the NCP right now.

“The BJP’s strategy is to divide and conquer. They caused the Shiv Sena to break apart, setting two organizations that resembled families against one another. Sharad Pawar is competing against Ajit Pawar. Divide and rule was a British strategy, according to Raut.

When its senior leader Eknath Shinde and more than 30 other MLAs revolted against Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership of the Shiv Sena last year, the party split. Later, Shinde allied himself with the BJP and was appointed chief minister.