Thackeray's lack of discussions, particularly on significant issues, was another feature of his leadership that "irritated" the Congress.
Digital
Desk: Months before, NCP leader Sharad Pawar had warned Uddhav Thackeray
about "growing anxiety" within the Sena and leaders of the ruling MVA
before the political crisis in Maharashtra that was started by Shiv Sena
Minister Eknath Shinde, a high-level political source told the media. Pawar
even hinted at a "possible revolt."
"Sharad Pawar had cautioned Uddhav
Thackeray at least four to five months ago and had asked him to start
contacting his party leaders and other ministers of MVA," the source
added.
The report said that Pawar was aware of the
mounting disagreement among MVA leaders on the "inaccessibility" of
Chief Minister Thackeray. The informant stated, "He had even forewarned
Thackeray of a potential insurrection, but Uddhav didn't pay much attention to
it."
On a few occasions, the source said, even
Pawar couldn’t get an appointment with Thackeray. The source claimed that Pawar
was dissatisfied with the CM's lack of accessibility because he was not making
time to meet with political leaders from different parties.
Another source claims that Uddhav wasn't
"frequently interacting" with those who were worried about him.
Even a few MVA MLAs had complained to Pawar
that Uddhav was difficult to talk to and that the CM hadn't heard them.
According to a second account, they felt alone and unwelcome in the administration.
A Congress leader said that the party's MLAs
and ministers had brought up the matter with their top command in Delhi at
least twice. Our cabinet ministers occasionally needed the CM's assistance with
particular initiatives or regulations. However, the leader claimed that
securing a meeting with the CMO was "almost impossible."
Thackeray's lack of discussions, particularly
on significant issues, was another feature of his leadership that
"irritated" the Congress.
Similar worries were expressed by the
independents and smaller parties allied with MVA.
I had made 45 calls to the CMO, according to
one MLA whose party is backing the MVA. However, nobody replied.
According to the MLA, "this
attitude" of taking the smaller parties and independents for granted led
to anger and many distancing themselves from the Sena during the Council and
Rajya Sabha polls.
When reached, a Sena official claimed not to
be aware of any such animosity among the MLAs. According to him, Thackeray had
meetings all the time and spoke to ministers and MLAs constantly.
