Congress-NCP combine faces serious survival threat in Maharashtra

Notwithstanding severe droughts in 151 tehsils, burgeoning farm crisis, and financial crunch, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has outsmarted the Congress-NCP-led Mahagathbandhan comprising 54 other parties by winning 41 of the 48 seats. The BJP won 23 seats while Shiv Sena won 18 seats. The Congress managed to win only one seat while four were won by the NCP. The poor performance is expected to badly affect the Congress and NCP in the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra later this year. It will help boost the morale of the BJP cadres. 

They fear that there won't be any takers for the nominations in the upcoming Assembly polls. The faction-ridden Congress miserably failed to put up a show of unity to take on the mighty BJP. Congress high command did not initiate disciplinary action against party leaders openly defying the party line. It sent a wrong signal among the rank and file which did not come out in large number to aggressively campaign party agenda including NYAY scheme wherein Rs 72,000 would be deposited in bank accounts of 5 crore people of the country.

State unit president Ashok Chavan kept himself busy in his campaigning in his home turf Nanded while other leaders could not move across the state leaving party workers clueless. Chavan failed to have his say in the finalisation of party nominees. He reportedly threatened to resign if the party high command did not change the candidates in few constituencies including Ramtek and Chandrapur.

Chavan lost to BJP nominee Pratap Chikhalikar as the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi turned out to be spoilsport there.

The leader of opposition in the state assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil resigned from his post but was not involved in the campaigning of the Congress party as he was engaged in the campaigning for his son and BJP nominee from Ahmednagar Sujay Vikhe Patil. Similarly, the party legislator from Man-Khatau seat in Satara district Jaikumar Gore openly shared the dais with BJP nominee Ranjit Naik Nimbalkar from Madha constituency. Both have yet to be either suspended or expelled from the party.

On the other hand, the Nationalist Congress Party changed its candidates in a bid to effectively take on BJP and Shiv Sena. The party chief and former union minister Sharad Pawar, who is 79, addressed more than 80 rallies for NCP and also for allies. However, senior party leaders could not devote more time as they could not move out of their traditional bastions. Even though Pawar was instrumental convincing Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray to independently hold rallies targeting BJP, it did not work in Congress and NCP favour as they lost all six seats in Mumbai to BJP and Shiv Sena.

Both Congress and NCP lacked strong organisational network up to booth level to match that of BJP and Shiv Sena's cadre at the block level. BJP leaders including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis not only gave enough time for the party candidates but also worked hard for poll ally Shiv Sena nominees. Fadnavis was instrumental to put in place proper chemistry between the two parties which helped the alliance to weather anti-incumbency. In 2009, the Congress had won 17 seats in the state with a vote share of 19.6 per cent. But the Sena and BJP together scalped 20 seats. In 2004, both the BJP and the Congress had won 13 seats each. The BJP started improving its tally in the state since 1996 when it won 18 seats. The tally dipped to just four in 1998, but the BJP jumped up to 13 seats in 1999.

FRUITS OF LABOUR

• BJP leaders including CM Fadnavis not only gave enough time to the party candidates but also worked for ally Sena nominees
   
• Fadnavis put in place proper chemistry between the two parties 
   
• This helped the alliance to weather anti-incumbency 
   
• The Bharatiya Janata Party started improving its tally in Maharashtra since 1996 when it had bagged as many as 18 seats