Mainstream WeeklyNovember 24, 2024
The much-awaited results of the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections and the less publicised by-polls are out. They need an interpretation.
Maharastra :
The BJP-Shiv Sena combine, known as the Mahayuti, has created a historic record by winning a landslide victory in Maharashtra, with the BJP on its own winning in132 of the 149 constituencies it contested, amounting to 88.6 percent victory. The Shiv Sena (popularly known as Shinde Sena) contested in 80 constituencies and won 57 seats with 71.3 percent win. The NCP, led by Ajit Pawar contested in 59 constituencies, winning 41 of them with 69.5 percent win.
The Maha Vikas Avadi ( MVA) failed in the electoral arena. The Congress Party performed miserably winning in only 16 of the 100 seats it contested. Sena (UBT) contested 94 seats but won in only 20 constituencies. The NCP, Sharad Pawar group, fielded candidates in 86 constituencies and won only 16 seats. The performance of the MVA has been so low that it has failed to capture 10 percent of the total 288 seats. Even the Congress Party fails to qualify for the Leader of Opposition (LoP) position. With its steam-roller majority, the BJP alliance (Mahayuti) will rule for the next five years, perhaps in an unquestioned manner. Bad news for democracy, but, something for which the Opposition MVA has to blame itself.
The election results convey the following messages :
1. The Mahayuti, was quick to learn lessons from the Lok Sabha debacle and introduced the corrective measures right in earnestness. The perceived upcoming loss of seats in Vidharbha and Maratwada regions, because of the Maratha reservation demand/agitation, was overcome by wooing the OBC votes, the results of which were seen in the electoral victories it reaped in the twin regions.
2. The Shinde government went about dealing with the farmers