In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena may be running the government in alliance with Congress and NCP, but inside, all is not well. The statement of former Union Minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Anant Geete gives the same indication. Anant Geete on Monday launched a scathing attack on Sharad Pawar and said that Sharad Pawar, who stabbed him in the back, cannot be our guru. Anant Geete said NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who stabbed the Congress in the back to form his party, cannot be a 'guru' for Shiv Sainiks. He also said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress is just a 'compromise'.
Pawar is considered the architect and pivot of the Mahavikas Aghadi government, which came to power after the 2019 assembly elections soured relations between the Shiv Sena and the BJP. Shiv Sena and BJP had shared power from 2014 to 2019. Speaking at a public meeting in his home constituency Raigad on Monday, Geete said, "Sharad Pawar can never be our leader as this government (MVA) is only a compromise. People should applaud Pawar as much as he can, but our 'guru' is only (late) Balasaheb Thackeray. Geete said, "As long as this government is working, it will continue… If we part, our home is Shiv Sena and we will always be with our party."
Former MP Geete said he had no "bad intentions" towards the Shiv Sena-led government and wanted the government to run. The Shiv Sena leader said, "Pawar had formed his party by stabbing the Congress in the back. If Congress and NCP cannot be united then Shiv Sena also cannot follow the policy of Congress completely. The relationship between Congress and NCP was not always cordial. NCP was formed by Sharad Pawar on May 25, 1999. Then he was accompanied by PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar.
He was expelled from Congress due to a dispute over Sonia Gandhi's right to lead the party. The NCP later became part of the Congress-led UPA governments at the Centre, with Pawar serving as Agriculture Minister. In Maharashtra too, Congress and NCP shared power till 2014. Geete had served as the Union Minister for Heavy Industries after the 2014 elections when Shiv Sena was part of the NDA. Geete had lost to NCP rival Sunil Tatkare by a narrow margin in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Tatkare's daughter Aditi is currently a minister of state in the MVA government.
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