Khadakwasla results: It’s time for NCP to wake up

The election result in Khadakwasla by-poll is more about the loss of faith in the leadership of NCP leader and deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, than the victory of the BJP-Shiv Sena-RPI alliance. It’s the people’s verdict against political arrogance, corruption and bad governance. Experts tell DNA.

People have chosen the right candidate, irrespective of the political party
Terming the victory of the BJP-Shiv Sena-RPI alliance in the Khadakwasla assembly by-election as people’s verdict against misrule and corruption is not right and I do not agree with the reason.

The constituency was never an NCP segment; on the contrary it was a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) segment. I think the voters have chosen the right candidate, irrespective of the party. The local factors have played a major role in the voters’ verdict. The local contacts of the winning candidate, the work of the corporator and his contribution towards the development of the area, have reflected in the people’s verdict in the Khadakwasla assembly by-election.
— Suhas Palshikar, former HoD, department of political science, UoP

The NCP-Congress alliance must realise that the ground reality is changing for them
The most important factor, that has affected the results of the Khadakwasla assembly by-election, is the poor voter turnout, which was as low as 32%. All the five political parties, that contested the election, have lost touch with their political and social ethics, and nowadays there is a lot more awareness among the masses and that is why they avoided voting.

Though capitalising on sympathy for political gains is a common tactic used in India, it did not work well for Harshada Wanjale. May be the people in Khadakwasla constituency did not like her joining the NCP.

The NCP had a good chance of winning the by-poll as the 12 party corporators in Khadakwasla constituency had undertaken some development work in the area. But in a desperate attempt to win, the party fielded Harshada Wanjale as its candidate, a move that has surely backfired.

After this defeat in the Khadakwasla by-poll, the NCP-Congress alliance must realise that the ground reality is fast changing for them.
— Subhash Vare, secretary, SM Joshi Socialist Foundation

Opposition has created an anti-NCP feeling among the masses over the years
In 1977, Ram Manohar Lohia created an anti-Congress ideology and in 1989 elections, Sharad Pawar did the same by creating an anti-BJP ideology.
In the 1999 and 2004 local elections, the NCP came into form and has had a strong presence in the state ever since. However, over the years, the Dalits, OBCs and political parties like Shiv Sena, Congress and BJP have created an anti-NCP ideology in the state.

The NCP’s performance has suffered in all the elections in the last five years due to the same anti-NCP ideology. Choosing Harshada Wanjale as the candidate was not a wrong move as per political calculations. The opposition parties have created an anti-NCP feeling among the masses, and the NCP cannot do anything about it. The NCP is now identified as a party that is only for builders or the rich. The foundation for the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance is already built. The problem with the NCP is that it has no ideology nor is it bothered to create one that can cover its wrongdoings, whereas BJP has played the Hindutva card to cover there wrongdoings.           
— Prakash Pawar, political science professor and political analyst

Poor voter turnout shows people’s disenchantment with the political parties
Due to the poor voter turnout, it is very difficult to determine whether it is the people’s verdict against misrule or corruption. In fact, the citizens are disenchanted with all political parties in general.

People are losing their faith in alliances because they are so fragmented in their functioning. It is evident that the people are very unhappy with inflation, corruption and scams and have lost faith in political governance. It is very bad for our democracy unless the political parties change their approach.
With only 32% voter turnout in the Khadakwasla by-election, you cannot call it a verdict of any kind. It is, in fact, a verdict against corruption.
— Ramesh Awasthi, chairperson, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Maharashtra

Considering the margin, it is not a big victory for Bhimrao Tapkir
It is very difficult to analyse the voters’ verdict in Khadakwasla by-polls. There are several factors that have affected the election results.

The growing resentment among people against the government over issues like power cuts and inflation is one of the major reasons. People have been suffering due to power cuts since last one month. This could be one of the major reasons why people voted in favour of the BJP-Shiv Sena-RPI alliance.

The second reason for NCP’s defeat is the discontent among party corporators over Harshada Wanjale’s entry in the NCP.

In my opinion, Bhimrao Tapkir, the BJP-Shiv Sena-RPI alliance candidate, managed to win because of low voter turnout.  I would not consider it as a big victory, considering the margin by which he has won. It will not be right to consider the defeat of the NCP-Congress alliance as a bad sign for its future, but they must surely take this as a warning bell.
— Anand Agashe, senior journalist