Mahajan's injury may open up fissures in BJP

The BJP's alliance with the Shiv Sena may also run into trouble

BJP leader Pramod Mahajan's absence from Maharshtra's political scene, even if it is for the time being, will impact the discipline within the party as well as its alliance with the Shiv Sena.

Mahajan and his brother-in-law, former deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde, have been maintaining stranglehold over the party, with the former having a decisive say.

Munde was the party's only popular face in the past but party's state unit president Nitin Gadkari has emerged as an alternative. That Munde does not get along with Gadkari is an open secret. However, Mahajan's iron grip on the party set-up did not allow these fissures to come out in the open.

Mahajan, with his oratory skills, has been the party's campaign horse. Even if he returns to active politics, his ability to take too much strain will be doubtful.

Though the party has found in Gadkari an alternative to Munde, there is no one to replace Mahajan. The BJP general secretary had earlier expressed his wish to retire from politics in 2019 but is yet to name a successor.

"This is the tragedy of the Mahajan-Munde style of politics. The two had a hegemony over the party structure, curbed dissent with a heavy hand and did not allow any leader to grow in stature. While Mahajan is battling for life, you can't think of a single leader in the BJP who can take over from Mahajan", said a former senior BJP leader who is now in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

It was Mahajan who, in the late 80s, saw the potential benefits of tying up with the Sena, and that too against the wishes of the party and the RSS leadership.

Since then, Mahajan is known as the architect of the BJP-Sena alliance. However after the arrival of Uddhav Thackeray, tensions between the BJP and the Sena grew. Munde and Gadkari may differ with each other on several other issues but are likely to agree on snapping ties with the Sena as early as possible, sources say.

Mahajan, who shares a personal rapport with Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, has taken a position that till Thackeray senior is on the scene, the BJP will continue to be with the Sena. The absence of Mahajan and Thackeray means the 20-year-old alliance may be a history.