Uddhav Thackeray - A tamed tiger desperate to keep his flock together

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's decision to support National Democratic Alliance (NDA) presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu was obviously a compulsion to keep his remaining flock together. 

But the move has also exposed his weakening grip over the party founded by his late father Bal Thackeray. 

He was forced to support Murmu by his own party's Members of Parliament (MPs). As many as 12 of the Shiv Sena's 18 Lok Sabha MPs had urged him to back Murmu. 

What were the options before him? Had he rejected their demand, there would have been a split in the Shiv Sena in Parliament too. 

But it would have been a big signal to his opponents that he won't succumb to any threats and is ready to go to any extent to ensure that his writ runs large in the party. 

Messaging is very important in politics and Uddhav's decision is obviously more of a compulsion than conviction though he tried to reason out that Murmu is a tribal and that the Shiv Sena had supported Congress' presidential candidates Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee in the past despite being in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

So, he opted to save his party from any further split but in the process emerged as a weak leader who could be easily outmanoeuvred.

Next, Uddhav will be forced to renew his party's tie-up with the BJP given that there are already voices within the Shiv Sena seeking a patch-up with its so-called natural alliance partner. 

The two decades-old allies had parted ways on a bitter note after the assembly elections in Maharashtra in 2019 following the BJP's refusal to concede the chief minister's post to the Shiv Sena. 

Even if Uddhav decides to mend fences with the BJP, the Shiv Sena will have to play the role of a junior partner unlike in the past when it dominated the alliance.

The BJP is in a commanding position now having strengthened its presence across Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena will be at its mercy and not in a position to extract its pound of flesh.

The BJP as part of its tactical strategy appears to have accepted rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde as the chief minister but it is for the time being. According to political observers, the BJP will strike sooner or later to take complete control over the government and Shinde will be forced to relegate to the margins as happened with many rebel leaders of opposition parties in many states post 2014.

As the chief minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, Uddhav’s style of functioning and governance, especially the management of the deadly Covid-19, was appreciated by a large section of the people.

He had carved out a niche for himself and never succumbed to tantrums by either of his alliance partners – the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – though he sought regular advice from Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar.

His only failure is that he had absolutely no clue of what was happening in his party that eventually led to his downfall. The big question now is will he be able to restore his position in the party and like his father emerge as the tiger who fears none.