Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar flashes victory sign during a press conference as the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secures victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections.(PTI Photo)
Dec 1, 2024 05:00 IST First published on: Dec 1, 2024 at 05:00 IST
Do It My Way
The NDA’s Maharashtra victory overshadowed the significance of Yogi Adityanath’s impressive feat in UP. The BJP alliance won seven of nine Assembly by-elections, turning the tables on the Opposition, which earlier represented six of the constituencies, including four by the SP. The BJP’s gain of four seats is a remarkable achievement in the light of its poor showing in India’s largest state a few months earlier in the Lok Sabha poll. Adityanath handled the campaign entirely on his own. No major BJP leaders came to canvass. In contrast, during the Lok Sabha campaign, the UP candidates were largely selected by the Delhi high command. Many believe this worked against the ruling party. This time around, the UP CM chose the candidates shrewdly and managed to breach SP bastions with his caste alliances. In Kundarki, a Muslim majority constituency, the BJP’s Ramveer Singh created history by winning the seat for the BJP after a gap of 30 years. Significantly, Thakurs came out to vote in large numbers with an enthusiasm missing during the Lok Sabha polls. Yogi is now firmly ensconced not just as CM, but as one of the foremost players in the BJP’s Gen Next. Even in faraway Maharashtra, Adityanath created ripples with his slogan “Batenge to katenge”. The jury is still out on whether the PM’s milder version, “Ek hain toh safe hain”, was an endorsement or a snub.
Weak Links
At the start of the Maharashtra campaign, Sharad Pawar had urged Rahul Gandhi to publicly declare Uddhav Thackeray as the MVA’s chief ministerial candidate; Gandhi declined to do so. Pawar urged Gandhi not to be complacent because of the MVA’s sterling performance in the Lok Sabha poll. He warned that if the BJP won Maharashtra, it would gain momentum and a domino effect could come into effect in the ensuing Assembly polls, restoring Prime Minister Modi’s image that slightly dented after the Lok Sabha poll. Neither of Pawar’s two allies paid much heed. While the 83-year-old Pawar campaigned relentlessly covering six rallies daily, Gandhi made just half a dozen trips to Maharashtra. He and Priyanka Gandhi spent a disproportionate time in Wayanad, Kerala, where victory was assured. The state Congress had hoped the Gandhis would galvanise young voters. Uddhav Thackeray, meanwhile, did not overly exert himself citing ill-health. His poll partners claim privately that Thackeray was the weakest link in the MVA with the Sena demanding a disproportionate number of seats, even in regions where his party had no organisational strength and fielded unknown candidates.
Woman Pawar
What’s not generally known is the fact that two redoubtable women played a key role in the total realignment of political parties in Maharashtra. In 2019, when the BJP insisted that Devendra Fadnavis should remain CM because of the BJP’s better performance, it was Rashmi Thackeray who encouraged her more easy-going husband to rebel and insist on the CM’s position, claiming that this was part of the deal with Amit Shah. Consequentially, a disgruntled Uddhav Thackeray joined forces with the Congress, its long-time antagonist. That same year, when Ajit Pawar very briefly and dramatically switched sides to the BJP, NCP sources claim Sharad Pawar was well aware of his party’s plan to join the BJP government and Ajit had his uncle’s blessings. Pawar backed out at the last moment, to the embarrassment of Ajit, because of strong objections from daughter Supriya Sule, who is vehemently opposed to the BJP’s ideology.
Pollster to politico
Prashant Kishor’s credentials as a pollster may have taken a beating after his way-off-the mark predictions in the recent elections, but his political debut, when he led his new party Jan Suraaj in the Bihar by-elections, was impressive. The party garnered 66,000 votes, including 37,830 votes from Imamganj constituency. Incidentally the NDA defeated its rival RJD in all four seats under the leadership of the BJP’s new state president, Dilip Jaiswal.
Money Speaks
Many claim credit for the Ladki Bahin scheme which was viewed as a gamechanger in Maharashtra. In fact, the Congress first conceived the scheme in 2021 in the Assam elections, naming it Gruha Lakshmi and promising monthly cash transfers to BPL women. The Congress lost the election nevertheless. But the same poll guarantee helped the Congress swing the 2022 Karnataka poll. Shivraj Singh Chouhan copied the scheme in Madhya Pradesh re-naming it Ladli Behna and won the Assembly election. The Mahayuti did one better — it did not simply include the programme in its poll manifesto, instead, to demonstrate the government’s sincerity, Shinde as CM ensured that five monthly installments of Rs 1,500, worth Rs 7,500, were deposited in the bank accounts of women voters, before the elections were announced.
