Drought relief saves the day

In the backward Marathwada region, which comprises 46 assembly segments, the Congress-NCP succeeded in making massive gains to thwart the march of the Shiv Sena and the BJP. With 30 seats in pocket, the Congress (18) and NCP (12) beat their 2004 record of seven and 11 which they had respectively won. 

The victory can be credited to union industries minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and chief minister Ashok Chavan who belong to Marathwada.

Deshmukh who held over 60 public meetings across the state had focussed his attention in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions. His son Amit, who made his electoral debut from Latur city, won the election.

The Shiv Sena won seven seats and the BJP five. When the Sena-BJP scripted its 2009 state election plans, its political managers were confident that the drought would intensify anti-incumbency against the DF government which would result in creating a vote bank for the combine.

On Thursday, state BJP president Nitin Gadkari said, “Our performance in Marathwada was poor. We expected to do much better.” 

The BJP feels that the MNS made a dent in some key constituencies. The MNS, whose focus was Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Pune, sprung a surprise when Raj Thackeray held public rallies at Marathwada. The results prove that the Sena-BJP failed to put the drought situation to its political advantage.