Not only the Bharatiya Janata Party but the Congress has also changed the way of holding the Maharashtra Assembly elections. Parties are developing a new form of micromanagement. In this sense, the parties are playing with local issues by giving more importance to local leaders than to national leaders. In Haryana, the BJP made minimal use of national leaders, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. In the same vein, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold 11 rallies in 4 days in Maharashtra, while local leaders like Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis have been given the responsibility of around 100 rallies. It is not just the BJP that is doing this. The Congress also focuses solely on local issues, so visits by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have remained very limited. In Maharashtra, only local political stories are discussed; The topics on which votes must be cast are as follows. Central leaders have no role in these issues.
1-Which party has the advantage in the Maratha reservation issue?
Last year, Manoj Jarange Patil, a Maratha quota activist, had again started the movement demanding reservation. This is why Jarange Patil is at the center of Maratha votes right now. Maratha reservation was first granted by the Devendra Fadnavis government but could not be implemented due to the court. Now Fadnavis is constantly on Jaranga’s target. Jarange has described it as opposing the interests of the community. Jarange Patil suddenly introduced his candidates and also decided to withdraw them. However, from the way he sometimes expresses sympathy towards the Shinde government, it seems that he is with the Shinde government. But politicians believe he is sending the message to support the MVA. Had he supported the independent Maratha candidates, he would have cut into the Maratha votes, thus benefiting the Mahayutis. The Maratha-Muslim-Dalit axis formed by the MVA has been a winning axis for the Congress and the NCP in the past, but this time it is in danger. Because some people believe that Jarange Patil can help Shinde in some constituencies as he has a weak position towards the Chief Minister. His anger is neither against Shinde nor against Ajit Pawar. For them, Fadnavis is the villain. In this way, the fight for the Maharashtra Assembly focused more on the local satraps than the central leadership.
2- Will the little sisters’ plan gain support by overcoming parties and castes?
Thanks to Ladki Bahin Yojana in Maharashtra, women can vote irrespective of their caste and other divisions. Mahayuti hopes that women will become a balancing force. Famed journalist Neerja Chaudhary writes that on the outskirts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly known as Aurangabad, a dozen women, mostly from Dalit, Neo-Buddhist or Matang communities, talk about voting for Mahayuti. These women say they voted for the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, thinking that reservations for the scheduled castes (SCs) might end. We thought that if Rahul Gandhi comes to power, he will reduce inflation. But this time we will vote for our brother Eknath Shinde. A woman says that because she put money in our hands. Women feel that if he returns to power, he will do more work for us. Chaudhary writes that the dilemma of the only Maratha woman in this group was clear. Because for her, Jarange Patil’s message was clear: the BJP must be defeated. Still, he says we have taken the money into our hands.
3-Who is stronger in the fight between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar?
At the political level in Maharashtra, there is also a discussion about who should vote on behalf of the Pawar family.
Maharashtra’s second deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar is facing many difficulties. Ajit Pawar has made it clear that he does not want senior BJP leaders like Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to campaign on his party’s seats because he does not want their community statements harm its main members. Muslim voters should be angry. He has also instructed his followers not to personally attack Sharad Pawar as it would generate sympathy for his uncle. Sharad Pawar has also played his emotional card. He has indicated that this fight is his last fight. He has also firmly defended his demand for the Muslim vote. One day, Father Pawar even said that while in power, he had added the name of a Muslim to the total death toll in the Mumbai blasts just so that this matter did not become an attack only on Hindus. Obviously the NCP (SP) is also a strong contender for Muslim votes.
4-Conflict between Uddhav and Shinde
The Chief Minister of Shiv Sena is Eknath Shinde, who is appreciated thanks to the Chief Minister Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. Shinde is gradually establishing himself as a Maratha leader. It is clear that the demand for reservation has to do with the restoration of Maratha power in the state. Which was once monopolized by Congress and the PCN. But now Shinde has also carved a niche for himself among the Marathas. Local Marathas consider Jarange Patil close to Sharad Pawar, but many Marathas even say that Pawar, Shinde and Jarange are the same. The most serious thing is that Uddhav Thackeray is beyond Maratha self-respect. They are still fighting to be recognized as the real Shiv Sena. There is goodwill towards him, but not as much as during the Lok Sabha elections.
