Bengal witnessing ‘Khela Hobe’ like Maharashtra: Shiv Sena (UBT) in Saamana

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday claimed that the BJP’s alleged attempts to split parties have reached “dangerous levels”, saying that after Maharashtra, a similar political play has unfolded in West Bengal.

In a scathing editorial in its mouthpiece, Saamana, the Thackeray camp said that immediately after the West Bengal Assembly election results, a swift and dramatic “Khela Hobe” played out. It claimed that Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) suffered an unexpected defeat, with the Chief Minister losing her Bhabanipur constituency, following which the party was split “vertically and horizontally” across the Assembly and Parliament.

The editorial said the developments mirror the strategy allegedly deployed by the BJP in Maharashtra against the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In Maharashtra, it said, the Shiv Sena and its ‘bow and arrow’ symbol were handed over to a rival faction, while Sharad Pawar’s political legacy was transferred to Ajit Pawar.

According to the editorial, with the BJP holding a majority in the West Bengal Assembly and the Speaker recently visiting Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, legal recourse under the anti-defection law is unlikely to succeed.

“What Maharashtra experienced is now being replicated in Bengal. Critics claim the Election Commission is acting in tandem, while the Supreme Court appears structurally passive, leaving Mamata Banerjee in the same prolonged legal struggle as the Shiv Sena and NCP,” it said, describing the situation as a reflection of the “political games” shaping the country.

The editorial further alleged that the BJP did not secure victories in Maharashtra or West Bengal through conventional democratic mandates, claiming instead that MLAs of regional parties were subsequently co-opted. It warned that the country is being pushed towards a “one-party, one election” framework, raising concerns over attempts to weaken regional parties and undermine federal autonomy.

“A new political mechanism has emerged where power is maintained through the alleged misuse of state machinery, financial inducements and political pressure. The Prime Minister has seemingly institutionalised a system where elected representatives are bought and ‘cleansed’ through a political ‘washing machine’,” it claimed.

The Thackeray-led Shiv Sena also alleged that the pattern of weakening established leadership was first witnessed in Maharashtra and is now being replicated in West Bengal. It cited past instances, including developments involving Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party in Bihar, the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab, and the targeting of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party.

Referring to comments by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari that the “rule of law has been established” in the state, the editorial questioned whether engineering defections within the TMC align with that claim. It also raised concerns over the role of Assembly Speakers, saying that constitutional neutrality appears compromised, as was allegedly seen during the Maharashtra political crisis.

The editorial further alleged that the BJP-led administration in West Bengal has allowed cattle slaughter, claiming that this deviates from its earlier stance when it had accused the Mamata Banerjee government of minority appeasement. It argued that the current dispensation, formed through political manoeuvring, is now working to destabilise opposition parties to retain power.

“Indian democracy is being openly undermined. The question is how long the country will continue to witness this decline,” the editorial said.

–IANS