“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
The old adage perfectly sums up the current state of political affairs in the state of Maharashtra. While everything seems to be in a constant state of flux in the Western state, one thing that has remained constant is the age-old principle of Berjeche Rajkaran that has defined the politics of the state since its formation in 1960. Berjeche Rajkaran, which loosely translates to ‘politics of accretion’ was a term popularised by the Maratha strongman and first chief minister of the state Yashwantrao Chavan. It refers to the strategy of co-opting leaders and cadres from across the political spectrum- often from other parties and organisations.
The BJP’s politics in the state has heavily relied on Berjeche Rajkaran — as is seen from the expansion of the NDA — first as a consequence of splits in the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party and now by the induction of Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena into its fold. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) which has emerged as the principal opposition to the BJP in the state is also relying on Berjeche Rajkaran — albeit on a different version of the same principle.
While the BJP’s iteration of Berjeche Rajkaran is to engineer defections and splits to expand its alliance, the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s version of Berjeche Rajkaran has focused on adding to its core supporter base by giving itself a moderate makeover and diluting its hardened stance on certain issues.