Voting for the Maharashtra Assembly will be held today, Wednesday. The public has the option to choose between the Mahayuti alliance (BJP-Shiv Sena Shinde faction and NCP Ajit Pawar faction) and the Mahavikas Aghadi alliance (NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress). If we take a look at the Lok Sabha election results, it seems that the public is angry with the Mahayutis. But after the Lok Sabha elections, a lot of water has flowed into the Arabian Sea. Currently there is fierce competition between both alliances. Meanwhile, it is not easy for the people of Maharashtra to choose their MLA because everything is mixed up in front of them. The candidate you have to vote for now is in another party, he is not the candidate of the party you have to vote for. In many places, the party’s valid candidate is someone else and the party is making someone else win. The ideology of Hindutva and secularism has become a combination. Partners in the same alliance are throwing mud at each other. Overall, voters in Maharashtra are in a tough spot as to who to vote for. This time the vote in Maharashtra will not only bring the decision to elect a new government. There are many other important things that will be decided in this election. Let’s see.
1-Who is the real Shiv Sena, Shinde or UBT? This time it will be sealed.
The name of Bala Saheb Thackeray, who once ruled Maharashtra as the Hindu Hriday Samrat, was sometimes famous throughout India. Now the question is about his legacy. The current CM of the state, Eknath Shinde, has been an ardent devotee and associate of Bala Saheb. Even with Uddhav Thackeray, he showed his party devotion the same way he did with Bala Saheb. But due to internal party politics and behavior of Uddhav Thackeray and manipulative politics of Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena split into two parts. More than half the people joined the Shiv Sena Shinde faction. Uddhav Thackeray had neither his original party nor its electoral symbol. The BJP went ahead and appointed Eknath Shinde as CM of the state. Shinde got the benefit of being close to the common people and workers. The victory rate in the Lok Sabha elections was better than that of his Uddhav Sena. Now the question arises whether Shinde Sena will get an advantage over Uddhav Sena in the assembly elections too. This election is going to be decisive for Shiv Sena. If once again Uddhav Sena is defeated in Maharashtra, it will prove fatal for him and his party. If Eknath Shind performs well and a dissenting assembly is formed, then he is very likely to win the Chief Minister’s post of the state again.
2-Who is the real PNC?
These may be the last innings of Sharad Pawar’s politics, considered the Chanakya politician of Maharashtra. He himself has given such an indication. Sharad Pawar, once the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, has been betrayed by his nephew Ajit Pawar. If we talk about political figures, the way the public rejected Ajit Pawar in the Lok Sabha elections, it seems the same may happen in the Assembly elections too. The way Sharad Pawar has worked hard to regain his lost credibility, he may reap the rewards of it. But it is very difficult to understand what kind of relationship exists between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in Maharashtra politics. The way Sharad Pawar’s political actions have been, sometimes it seems as if both Pawars are together. Recently, Ajit Pawar had revealed about the formation of the Maharashtra government in 2019. It seems that returning to the NCP after coming to the BJP was part of Pawar’s strategy. Anyway, if there is an assembly hanging in Maharashtra, then Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar can be seen together. Ajit Pawar has said in his party that no one will say anything derogatory about senior Pawar.
3-Does the BJP want to become the elder brother of Maharashtra or not?
The Bharatiya Janata Party has been fighting for a long time to become the big brother of Maharashtra. This was the reason why the years-long friendship between Shiv Sena and BJP was at stake. Despite having fewer seats in 2019, Uddhav Thackeray remained steadfast in his demand to become CM. When the BJP refused, he formed Mahavikas Aghadi with the Congress and the NCP and became CM himself. But unfortunately, the BJP is yet to get the privilege of appointing its Chief Minister. Shiv Sena and NCP split. Each faction of both is involved in the grand alliance with the BJP. The BJP is the largest party, but the CM post had to be handed over to Eknath Shinde. Like in Bihar, despite having more MLAs, there is an obligation to keep Nitish Kumar as CM. A few days ago, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis declared that our next CM will be Eknath Shinde. But just this week, Home Minister Amit Shah indicated that it is yet to be decided who will be the CM of Maharashtra. If the BJP gets enough majority, then obviously the CM in the government will be from the BJP. But if there are fewer seats, it will be difficult for the BJP to keep the Mahayuti together. Therefore, this time’s election is also important to see if the BJP manages to appoint its CM.
4-The future of politics
It is impossible to find an example of the kind of ideological mess that has been brewing this time in the assembly elections in Maharashtra politics. The way Mahayuti NCP Ajit Pawar has launched a stinging attack on the BJP ideology is probably a first. BJP has just been listening. Now, what was the BJP’s compulsion to continue tolerating every decision of Ajit Pawar that was completely against its policies? Nawab Malik has been talking a lot about the BJP and its great leaders and even the prime minister. He has been accused of being an associate of Dawood Ibrahim. ED also arrested him last year. First, Ajit Pawar gave ticket to his daughter despite BJP’s opposition. Later, Nawab Malik was also given a fine. The BJP continued to register protests. Similarly, Ajit Pawar directly opposed ‘Bantenge to Katenge’. Ajit Pawar did not even organize a meeting of senior BJP leaders for his candidate. However, he continued to receive blessings from Prime Minister Modi. Similarly, the pot of ideology is also very ripe in Mahavikas Aghadi. The alliance of Shiv Sena UBT and Congress-NCP (SP) was incongruent. Now the public vote will decide what is the future of this Khichdi policy in the country?
