In Maharashtra, which has seen its share of political tumult since 2019, the ruling Mahayuti has surged ahead in its contest with the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), way beyond the halfway mark in leads. Even in Vidarbha, amid widespread agrarian distress, the alliance has managed a sweep.
For the BJP, the results will determine how the party fares in a perception battle after its underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls. A victory for Congress and other INDIA parties will mean the furthering of a ‘BJP is on a decline’ narrative, and serve as a boost of confidence for a shaky alliance.
The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance appeared set to retain power in Maharashtra and was leading in 226 of the 288 assembly seats. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi was stumbling, with its candidates leading in just 54 seats. Indicating a landslide victory for the ruling alliance,
How did Mahayuti defy anti-incumbency to register its landslide victory? According to poll pundits, there are various factors which may have worked in favour of the ruling alliance. From Ladki Bahin yojana, to paying attention to Vidharba reason to slogans like kategenge to batenge has reaped fruits.
Moreover, almost six months of bold course-correction measures coupled with populist programmes to reach targeted segments — farmers, women, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) — appear to have paid off as the Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) turned things around after the Lok Sabha election setback in which it came second to the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), winning only 17 of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha seats.
The BJP itself made an impressive march by crossing the century mark — with wins and leads in 125 seats as of afternoon, with the Mahayuti’s sweep showing the extent to which the ruling combine turned the tide to its favour. The extent of the BJP’s win shows that it is likely to stake a claim to the CM’s chair.
What also helped the BJP campaign was its ability to resolve differences with the RSS, which campaigned extensively for it and the ruling alliance and thus helped its core constituency of voters to shake off disappointment.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also worked to address the anti-BJP anger among Marathas. The politically dominant community with 33% population was a crucial factor.The Maratha agitation was expected to polarise the OBCs and the BJP embarked on a mission to unite the fragmented 353 communities through a mammoth outreach plan.
Learning the lessons from parliament polls, the state government unrolled a slew of incentives to keep farmers’ anger in check. In the state Budget, the government announced free electricity to farmers using agriculture pumps up to 7.5 HP. In its poll manifesto, the Mahayuti announced a crop loan waiver and promised to repay the differences between MSP and actual procurement rates through the Bhavantar Yojana.