This is how the BJP has failed Maharashtra

The writer asserted that the first severe blow to the Shiv Sena–BJP alliance came from Uddhav Thackeray is incorrect. It came from the arrogant new leadership of the BJP who, on the back of their victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, felt they could arm-twist their alliance partners into submission and servility. It was Amit Shah’s refusal (as then BJP president) to honour the pre-poll commitment that made Shiv Sena sever ties. It also gave us the option to forge a new alliance for the betterment of Maharashtra. Alliance politics does not work in a vacuum — it is based on the expectations of the people from political parties. The way our government functioned during Covid-19 under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray, acknowledged by the WHO as well as — very reluctantly — by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in ensuring consistent economic growth is an indicator of its success. An RTI application revealed that despite the Covid crisis, Maharashtra saw trade increase by 35 per cent and 42 per cent more jobs were created in the two years of the MVA government.

The writer speaks of “falling prey” to the “Machiavellian” tactics of Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray “breaking tenets” of family tradition by becoming the CM. Talking of ideology is a bit rich – the writer’s political party ran campaigns against former CM Ashok Chavan and happily inducted him into the party. It dropped all the cases against Chavan and sent him to the Rajya Sabha. This was a day after getting into an alliance with Ajit Pawar and making him share the deputy CM seat with Devendra Fadnavis, who promised never to ally with him. The Prime Minister accused Ajit Pawar of being involved in an irrigation scam worth over Rs 70,000 crore. In fact, his attacks on dynasty politics are interesting, given the BJP’s Maharashtra unit has several dynasties in the fray in this assembly election.

Maharashtra has suffered in the last 2.5 years, after the Mahayuti’s power grab. It has ballooning debt, massive corruption, deteriorating law and order, industries moving out of the state, joblessness, farmer distress and high inflation. Maharashtra’s current debt burden stands at above 7.7 lakh crore. In fact, the state’s Finance Department had sounded alarm bells with the fiscal deficit having breached the 3 per cent limit recommended by the Maharashtra FRBM Act.

As per the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council’s report, Maharashtra’s growth rate has slowed down from 15 per cent to 13 per cent whereas that of Gujarat has gone up from 7.5 per cent to 8 per cent. Industrial projects approximately worth Rs 10 lakh crore were taken out of the state. These projects had the potential to create over 8 lakh jobs in the state. The inauguration of the Tata Airbus factory by the PM in Gujarat on the day Maharashtra state elections were announced was like rubbing salt in the wound of every resident of the state. The Vedanta Foxconn project — which was taken to Gujarat and later shelved due to lack of investor interest — led to a loss not just to the state but also to the country. There are several such examples. The industrial growth rate has come down from 5.5 per cent to 1.3 per cent, with manufacturing growth in the negative.

Unemployment in the state has led to desperation. How can one forget that for 18,500 police jobs there were vacant had 17 lakh applicants? A recent CSDS survey found that for 24 per cent of the people in Maharashtra, unemployment was their top concern in the elections. Over 2.46 lakh government jobs are lying vacant, with joblessness amongst graduates at 11.3 per cent and postgraduates at around 6 per cent. The inflation in the state is higher than the national average and the cost of a vegetarian thali has seen a whopping 71 per cent rise!

The law and order situation with regard to women’s safety also took a beating. The Badlapur incident grabbed national headlines as several women came out to protest against the state government. The stringent Maharashtra Shakti Act — passed unanimously in the state assembly during the MVA’s tenure — still awaits the President’s nod. Mumbai, known as a safe city, has suffered a massive jolt in recent times with constant death threats to personalities from the entertainment industry and the brazen murder of a prominent politician.

Over 71 lakh farmers facing crop-related losses await compensation. A farmer commits suicide every 8 hours in the state and the soyabean and cotton farmers are facing challenges of not getting adequate prices for their crops and being forced to sell at below MSP. The Chhatrapati Shivaji statue which fell within 8 months of its inauguration by PM Modi is the most disgraceful reminder of this government’s corruption.

The BJP is neither the gatekeeper nor the guardian, nor the spokesperson of Hindus. It is not for them to distribute certificates on Hinduism and our political work. Our politics is based on our dharma of “dil mein Ram, haath mein kaam”, while the BJP’s only dharma is to exploit faultlines in society for their political benefit.

This is a political party whose government lathi-charged peaceful protests by the Maratha community. It has instigated and divided people trying to create a “Marathas vs OBC”, “Dhangars vs other Scheduled Tribes” polarisation: And, of course, their “Hindus vs Muslims” trump card. The people of the state have realised that the BJP is the party that has thrived using “baatengey”, “kaatengey” and “lootengey” politics. Just like people in the general elections, the people will once again choose the Maha Vikas Aghadi. The Shiv Sena (UBT), with a new party name and symbol, moved up from 6 MPs (post-split) to 9 MPs while the BJP went from 23 MPs to 9 MPs in 2024.

The writer is a Rajya Sabha MP, Shiv Sena (UBT)