Samajwadi Party Leaves MVA After Shiv Sena (UBT) Supports Babri Masjid Demolition

Mumbai, 7th December 2024: On Saturday, Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi declared that his party would exit the Maharashtra opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Azmi accused Shiv Sena (UBT) of shifting towards a “Hindutva agenda” after its defeat in the Maharashtra assembly elections, which led the Samajwadi Party to reconsider its partnership with the coalition.

The decision follows a controversial incident involving Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray’s aide, Milind Narvekar, who allegedly praised the demolition of the Babri mosque in a social media post and a related newspaper advertisement. Azmi criticized this, stating that the Samajwadi Party could not tolerate such actions.

He also pointed out that coordination issues in the MVA’s seat-sharing and campaign efforts contributed to the fallout. Azmi added that after the electoral loss, Thackeray encouraged his party members to aggressively promote Hindutva. Azmi emphasized that the advertisement in support of the Babri demolition and Narvekar’s social media post were key factors in the decision to leave the MVA.

Azmi further questioned why the Samajwadi Party should remain in an alliance with a group that mirrored the BJP’s ideology. He confirmed he was in talks with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav regarding the exit.