Comments
After a crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in the State, the BJP is plotting its return to power in Maharashtra.
Aware that a solo victory is now beyond reach, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has issued a battle cry to the BJP cadre: rally behind the Mahayuti—a coalition of the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP. The stakes are high, and the road ahead is anything but smooth.
The countdown to a high-stakes state assembly election has begun as the Election Commission of India announced on Tuesday that voting for the Maharashtra assembly would take place on 20 November and counting will be on 23 November 2024.
Maharashtra has 288 assembly seats and 9.63 crore voters.
For Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, this election is uncharted territory—forced to march under new banners and symbols after the heart of their original parties was hijacked by defectors. The Shiv Sena name and bow-and-arrow symbol now belong to Shinde.
The NCP flag is firmly in the hands of Ajit Pawar. Uddhav and Sharad must now reinvent themselves in a political landscape that has been shattered overnight, and the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election promises to be their ultimate test of resilience.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, along with his deputies—Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar—have wasted no time in making their strategy known.
The government’s promises of lavish freebies are poised to be the trump card. From loan waivers to power subsidies, the trio has opened that Maharashtra’s coffers to lure the electorate.
Politics of defection and splits
In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP secured 105 seats, Shiv Sena 56, Congress 44, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) 54. However, Uddhav Thackeray broke away from the BJP post-election, forging an unexpected alliance with the Congress and NCP to form the government, eventually becoming the Chief Minister.
Two and a half years later, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde rebelled against Thackeray, leading a faction to split from the Sena and assuming the Chief Minister’s position with BJP’s backing. Soon after, the BJP extended support to Ajit Pawar, facilitating a division within the NCP, further reshaping Maharashtra’s political landscape.
There are two NCPs, two Shiv Senas and one BJP in the state election which is all set to widen the caste divisions as reservation demand by Marathas and the opposition by OBCs is already dominating the political narratives.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.