Samajwadi Party Exits MVA Alliance Following Maharashtra Assembly Polls

Mumbai, Dec 7 (NationPress) In a move that was expected, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has exited the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) opposition coalition in Maharashtra, merely a fortnight after the results of the state Assembly elections were revealed, as reported on Saturday.

Addressing the media, state SP President and MLA Abu Asim Azmi expressed multiple grievances regarding his sudden choice to withdraw from the opposition, criticizing the MVA leaders from Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Shiv Sena (UBT) for their positions on various political matters.

“There was a complete lack of coordination within the MVA during the elections and the seat-sharing negotiations. They never included us in meetings or joint rallies. They consistently avoided sharing each other’s campaign platforms, which ultimately led to the significant defeat of MVA parties in the Assembly elections,” Azmi stated.

The SP had requested 12 seats from the MVA, contested six, but secured only two – Azmi himself from Mankhurd-Shivajinagar (Mumbai) and Rais Kasam Shaikh from Bhiwandi East (Thane).

In a pointed critique of Uddhav Thackeray, the President of Shiv Sena (UBT), Azmi claimed that during an internal party meeting, Thackeray allegedly urged his leaders and party members to aggressively pursue the Hindutva agenda once more prior to the upcoming civic elections in the state. “Just yesterday (December 6), a SS (UBT) leader shared a social media post taking credit for the (undivided) party on the demolition of the Babri Mosque (1993). How can we accept this?” a visibly upset Azmi questioned.

He emphasized that the SP is committed to secular values, the preservation of democracy, and the Constitution, and therefore will not align with any party that adopts a communal stance.

Azmi's discontent arose from a post on X by SS (UBT) MLC Milind Narvekar, who praised the Babri Mosque demolition that occurred 32 years ago, featuring images of the late Balasaheb Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray (MLC), and Aditya Thackeray (MLA).

“They must understand that such posts are hurtful and contradict the principles of unity, secularism, and respect for all communities. We are here to foster harmony across all groups, not to create divisions,” Azmi declared firmly.

When asked whether the state unit’s decision would affect the status of the SP as a national party led by Akhilesh Yadav in relation to the INDIA bloc, Azmi was non-committal. “I have been granted complete authority to make any decisions beneficial for the party in Maharashtra. Decisions at the central level will be made by the top leadership. I attempted to inform Akhilesh Yadav about our (state) decision but could not reach him,” Azmi explained.

Regarding whether the SP would now function as a separate group or establish another arrangement, he smiled and replied, “How can a party with two MLAs operate as a separate entity in a house of 288 legislators? We will determine the course of action in the days ahead,” Azmi asserted.

Leaders from Congress-SS (UBT)-NCP (SP) have yet to respond to this development, but in defiance of the MVA's directive not to attend the MLAs’ oath-taking ceremony, the two SP legislators proceeded to take their oaths alongside members of the MahaYuti alliance.

Nonetheless, the SP has fully supported the initiative opposing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in favor of a return to ballot paper voting, which began on December 3 from a small village in Markadwadi within the Malshiras assembly constituency of Solapur and has attracted national attention.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at qnajmi@gmail.com )