With just days left until the pivotal state assembly elections on November 20, uncertainty hangs thick in the air.
Amid the chaotic campaign season, a single question reverberates through the minds of voters: who will align with whom to claim the throne?
In a state where political loyalties have become as fluid as the monsoon, voters now wonder whether the candidates they back will remain true to their party or ideology for the full term—or switch sides in the blink of an eye.
In this volatile landscape, 4,140 candidates are vying for 288 fiercely contested assembly seats, with no clear-cut alliances or trust.
“I don’t know if I should vote,” says Nitin Ghadge, a disillusioned professional. “I’m confused. How do I know if the candidate I choose will stay loyal? The past five years have been a circus, with politicians leaping from party to party.”
Kamini Pawar, a research scholar and activist, echoes these frustrations.
“Voters have lost faith in both parties and individuals. There’s no assurance that the candidate I support today won’t join hands with the opposition tomorrow just to stay in power. In that case, my vote is rendered meaningless, especially if I’m voting to keep a particular party out,” she laments.
Even the elderly, who have witnessed decades of Maharashtra’s political drama, are jaded. “At this point, the only surprise left is BJP and Congress forming a coalition, with PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi shaking hands,” quips senior citizen Martand Pawar with a wry smile.
Power plays
The backdrop to this electoral mistrust is a saga of political betrayals and power plays. In 2019, the BJP secured 105 seats, emerging as the largest party.
Their ally, the Shiv Sena, won 56. Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) trailed with 44 and 54 seats. But despite their majority, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance soon fractured over the Chief Minister’s post.
Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray broke ranks and formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) with the NCP and Congress, seizing the Chief Minister’s position for himself.
The BJP, unwilling to cede power, orchestrated a political coup. In the early morning, NCP’s Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister, alongside BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister, in a stunning twist that lasted barely 80 hours before Sharad Pawar’s influence shattered the pact and pulled Ajit back into the NCP fold.
Uddhav’s government endured, with Ajit Pawar as his Deputy Chief Minister.
BJP’s vengeance
The drama intensified in June 2022. Eknath Shinde, backed by a majority of Shiv Sena MLAs, rebelled against Thackeray’s leadership. Aligning with the BJP, Shinde seized power as Chief Minister, with Fadnavis relegated to Deputy Chief Minister.
The Election Commission handed Shinde a crucial victory, awarding him the Shiv Sena’s name and symbol, leaving Thackeray’s faction weakened and scrambling for relevance.
But the BJP had one more move up its sleeve. In July 2023, in a final act of strategic cunning, Ajit Pawar joined Shinde’s government as Deputy Chief Minister, this time with BJP support, as he sought control of the NCP’s name and symbol from his uncle, the veteran Sharad Pawar.
As voters face the polls, one truth remains clear: in Maharashtra, political loyalties are as transient as the promises made on the campaign trail.