By Quaid Najmi

Mumbai, Mar 28 (IANS): Not prepared to rest in peace after losing power in Maharashtra, the state BJP is still hoping for a 'miracle' that could resurrect it into the driving seat, after dozens of ominous deadlines to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government passed away event-free.

In the latest bid, during a by-election rally, state BJP President Chandrakant Patil suddenly remembered Nationalist Congress Party's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and lauded his "no-nonsense" style of functioning.

Taking a swipe at Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Patil expressed desire to 'examine' the CM's horoscope for the latter's good fortune of being surrounded by stalwarts like Pawar or Eknath Shinde.

The BJP chief also concurred with the sulking ruling ally Raju Shetti, head of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) who rued that "the CM is barely visible these days and it was Pawar who calls the shots in the MVA show".

Patil claimed that no Shiv Sena legislators are allowed to hover around the CM and they all troop down to Pawar or Shinde to get their works done or problems resolved, and warned that "the MVA is going to face a lot more" from the various probe agencies.

Earlier, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Patil had 'invited' Pawar to rule the state from Pune and recently alleged that earlier Thackeray's duties were hindered by the lockdown and now hampered by his health.

Apparently flustered by Patil's utterances, Shiv Sena MP and Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut hit back terming it as the BJP's "step-motherly love for Ajit Pawar".

"Praising good work is always welcome... We also have great appreciation for the good work done by Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari...", said Raut in a return-stroke.

Though the central probe agencies have gone all-out to target Sena-NCP leaders, the BJP has largely refrained from directly attacking Ajit Pawar, who had once strayed to form a two-member government headed by Devendra Fadnavis that took oath in a pre-dawn ceremony on November 23, 2019.

However, it proved to be the shortest-ever regime in the state's history, crashing in hardly 80 hours.

Barely 48 hours later, the Sena-NCP-Congress coalition MVA government headed by Thackeray took office on November 28 that year, something that the BJP has yet to fully digest.

Yesterday (Sunday), eyebrows went up in MVA circles as senior NCP leader and ace criminal lawyer Majeed Memon paid rich compliments to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the recent sweep in four of the five states' assembly elections.

"If Narendra Modi wins people's (mandate) and is also shown as world's most popular leader, there must be some qualities in him or good work he may have done which the Opposition leaders are unable to find," Memon declared.

Patil's fond hopes also stem from the recent admission by NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, who revealed on December 30 how Modi wanted a NCP-BJP alliance government in Maharashtra after the fractured verdict of 2019 assembly polls, but he (Pawar) had firmly rejected it.

But, barely a week later, in early-January, the NCP warmly invited Thackeray - who proclaimed that the Sena had rotted 25 years in alliance with BJP - to join the national secular Opposition alliance and help dethrone the BJP in 2024 elections.

Attempting to drive a wedge among the MVA allies, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis alleged last week that a lion's share of the budget (nearly 53 per cent) had gone to the NCP, while Sena-Congress had to be content with the left-over, a charge denied by Ajit Pawar, who is also the state finance Minister.

Political observers say that these "verbal duels" will continue as both the MVA and BJP are keen to score brownie points and keep their respective flocks in good humour.