Nawab Malik and his MVA allies will force the BJP out of power at the Centre

Nawab Malik, a Maharashtra Minister, declared on Wednesday that the NCP, Congress, and Shiv Sena will not only continue to govern Maharashtra but will also unseat the BJP at the national level. Malik, the NCP's national spokesperson, made the remarks in response to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's accusation that "some persons" approached him and requested him to help overthrow the MVA administration in Maharashtra so that the state might be forced into mid-term elections.

 

In a letter to Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday, Raut also claimed that central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were targeting Shiv Sena leaders after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party partnered with the NCP and Congress to form a Government in Maharashtra.

 

Following the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the three parties formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) administration, after the Shiv Sena severed ties with long-time ally BJP over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial seat. Malik, who backed Raut, claimed what the Sena leader said is "real" and that NCP leaders are being targeted as well.

 

"However, it is their (the BJP's) delusion that we will be terrified. The (state) government will complete five years no matter how hard they try. This government will serve for 25 years. We will be in power in the state, as well as at the national level "Malik asserted. 

 

The NCP representative also accused Devendra Fadnavis, the former Maharashtra Chief Minister, of being behind the central government's measures against the BJP's opponents. He believes that the more the agencies act against MVA leaders, the more support the latter will receive from Maharashtra's citizens. Malik further stated that staff assigned to central agencies should serve in accordance with the law and not as political party employees. "No one is ever in power for a long time," he added.