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From underdog to bulldog: BJP rises out of Shiv Sena's shadow in state

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The BJP has captured power in Maharashtra riding on the tailwind of the Modi wave and convincing the electorate that it is the real right-wing Hindutva party, not the Shiv Sena. The BJP also convinced voters through the 27 rallies that prime minister Narendra Modi addressed that they have a chance to shape the destiny of the country as well, and that seemed to have worked.

The anti-incumbency against the Congress-NCP government of 15 years may have been only a minor factor as both these parties combined took nearly 100 seats, which would not have been possible if there was public ire against the incumbent.

Coming out of the Sena's shadow after 25 years was BJP's master stroke. Though the party pretended that it was forced to move out of the alliance, going alone seemed to have been a strategy decided beforehand. Now, with 123 out of 288 seats, the BJP is poised to rule the state with the help of most probably Sena and the NCP 's "me-too" outside support.
Post poll, the BJP will also have to build an image for its probable chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who is a rookie, with yet unproven administrative and strategic skills. Also, he quickly needs to acquire a larger than life image or has to be thrust with greatness if he is to run a government in Maharashtra, and that too with the troublesome Sena as an ally.
It is a tough task for a 44-year-old to bring together the party and an ally and then push through a development agenda that calls for herculean strategic qualities, which Fadnavis has yet to display. So will he be an Amit Shah proxy?

The BJP has acquired some muscle now, the party which was considered a junior partner to Sena and an underdog in the state has now emerged the bull dog with double the number of seats. The party vote share this time is 27.7% as compared to 14% in the previous assembly election.

Though the party could not maximise its strength in their own stronghold Vidarbha, the BJP made its presence felt in North Maharashtra. Konkan, however, remained out of BJP's reach even this time, but in Mumbai it came out a total winner getting 17 out of a total of 36 seats.
Mumbai BJP president and winning candidate from Bandra Ashish Shelar said, "For once, the break-up of alliance proved as a boon and it gave both the parties an opportunity to show their mettle. Results established who is the big brother."

Did the BJP cut into the Hindutva vote bank? Yes, it did. The question before the voter was which party represented the larger majoritarian interest best. In that ideological scuffle, Sena lost out. That the BJP was in power at the Centre was of immense value to the voter. Also, Sena did not help its cause by alienating Gujaratis and North Indians. They all backed the BJP. Not to mention, Sena, true to its style, had used derogatory language against the PM, which also worked against it.

"The derogatory and foul language used by Shiv Sena and its mouthpiece did not go down well with these communities. One of their publication went to the extent of dragging the name of Narendrabhai's father. They called Narendrabhai Afzal Khan and Raavan. How disgraceful was that!" said Eknath Khadse, senior-most BJP leader in Maharashtra.

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