Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) counterpart Raila Odinga are in a all-out war, political analyst Prof Macharia Munene has observed.
Munene says Mudavadi has declared war on the ODM boss as a strategy to wrestle Western Kenya from him, and over the 2022 succession politics.
Raila received massive backing in the 2017 polls in which Mudavadi served as the campaign manager for the NASA coalition.
Speaking to The Star, the analyst said Mudavadi has always played second fiddle to the AU envoy and was now out to consolidate support in his Western Kenya backyard and look 'presidential' ahead of next election.
"Musalia is trying to assert himself and improve his image as a political fighter. He has for a long time been overshadowed by Raila and that tends to make him look weak. He is fighting to look solid and presidential," he said.
On his part, Sabatia Member of Parliament Alfred Agoi said Raila and his colleagues were 'bitter' with Mudavadi because they have realised they were losing support in Western Kenya.
"They (ODM) have panicked because they have realised that Mudavadi's strategy is locking them out of Western Kenya. This time around, the Luyha nation will speak in one voice and loudly so," Agoi said.
The rivalry between the two political bigwigs has been heightened by the upcoming Kibra parliamentary by-election in which both ANC and ODM have fielded candidates.
Mudavadi on Saturday vowed to teach Odinga a lesson by defeating him in the November 7 polls.
“Kibra cannot be anyone’s doormat as is being suggested. Nor is it anyone’s private property, their house or their bedroom,” he said during a presser held at Ole Sereni hotel.