The growing strain in BJP-Eknath Shinde ties: What latest audio row reveals

The political fallout, however, has been swift. Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam has accused elements within the BJP of conspiring to undermine Shinde, while BJP leaders have warned their alliance partner against making allegations without evidence. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a forensic investigation, saying the origins of the recording and the identities of those heard in it must be established.

“Who are the people in the BJP who have taken it upon themselves to finish Eknath Shinde politically? Their identities must be exposed before the public,” Kadam said at a press conference on Friday.

Kadam asked whether the BJP was becoming insecure about Shinde’s growing political standing. “Eknath Shinde joined hands with you by placing his trust in you, but now are you also becoming insecure about him?” he said.

BJP MLC Pravin Darekar hit back, saying the party would not tolerate attempts to malign its leaders without evidence. Fadnavis, while ordering the probe, questioned why the recording had surfaced after two-and-a-half years. “We also have to figure out why this audio clip came out now after two-and-a-half years,” he said.

A question of trust

The current dispute is different from earlier rows in one important respect. The earlier disagreements were largely about who would control a department, secure a political appointment or claim credit for the government. The Rs 500-crore allegation, by contrast, has prompted a direct charge from a senior Sena leader that elements within the BJP may be working to politically damage the party’s own leader.

For the Sena, the controversy touches a sensitive political question. Shinde broke away from the undivided Shiv Sena in 2022, bringing down Uddhav Thackeray’s government with the support of the BJP. He became the CM, with Fadnavis as his deputy. The alliance gave Shinde the top post and the BJP a route back into government.

It was, however, an unequal alliance. The BJP was the larger party in the Assembly, while Shinde needed to establish that his faction could command its own support base and retain the political identity of the Shiv Sena.

That tension surfaced publicly in June 2023, when a full-page newspaper advertisement described Shinde as a more popular choice for CM than Fadnavis. Citing a survey, it put support for Shinde at 26% and for Fadnavis at 23.2%. The advertisement triggered a sharp response from the BJP’s central leadership.

The Sena subsequently issued another advertisement featuring both leaders. The episode was an early indication that even while governing together, the parties were competing over who should be seen as the face of the government.

A change in balance

The question of leadership became more acute after the November 2024 Assembly elections. The BJP won 132 of the 288 seats, compared with 57 for Shinde’s Shiv Sena. Fadnavis returned as CM, while Shinde became Deputy CM.

The change was a political setback for Shinde in terms of office, as he was keen to retain his position as CM. The transition was followed by disputes over guardian ministerships in Nashik and Raigad, where the Sena wanted the posts allotted to its ministers. Shinde also skipped official meetings amid the disagreements.

There were other points of friction. In February 2025, the Fadnavis government ordered a review of aspects of Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement schemes and the selection of agencies approved under the previous Shinde-led administration, citing alleged irregularities and complaints about demands for money by procurement agencies.

By November 2025, the dispute had shifted to party organisation. The BJP’s efforts to induct leaders from the Shinde-led party prompted protests from Sena ministers, most of whom stayed away from a Cabinet meeting. Shinde subsequently said there should be no poaching within the Mahayuti.

That competition played out again in the municipal corporation elections this January. The BJP and the Sena failed to reach pre-poll agreements in 15 of the state’s 29 municipal corporations, largely over seat-sharing and local equations. They joined hands in 14, including Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli.

In Mumbai, the BJP’s Ritu Tawde became Mayor in February, ending the undivided Shiv Sena’s three-decade hold on the post. Over the past year, Sena corporators have frequently complained of being sidelined in the country’s richest municipal corporation, despite being part of the ruling alliance.

The 2029 question

The latest audio controversy has coincided with renewed public statements by Sena leaders that they want Shinde back as CM.

On October 20, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said the party would seek to increase its Assembly strength in 2029 to make Shinde Chief Minister again.

“Every Shiv Sainik wants Eknath Shinde to become CM again. Since we do not have the numbers today, Shinde is the Deputy CM. We will increase our strength in the next Assembly elections and make him CM again,” Sarnaik said.

Water Resources Minister Gulabrao Patil has also voiced the same ambition. The remarks do not amount to a formal demand by the Mahayuti leadership to change the CM. But they make clear that the Sena does not regard its current place in the government as the limit of its ambitions.

“For Shinde, the public projection of a return to the top post keeps his leadership central to the party and gives its workers a political objective. It also signals that the Sena intends to build its strength rather than remain dependent on the BJP’s numbers,” says Ashok Dhatingan, a former Shiv Sainik from Nashik who has seen the evolution of the party.

For the BJP, the repeated statements are a reminder that its ally is preparing to bargain for a larger share of power at the next Assembly election. While the Sena is still an important constituent in the BJP’s political calculations to retain the state in the 2029 elections, the party is pondering how much political space it should cede to its partner, whose totem remains Eknath Shinde.