Is it only the name and the electoral symbol that decide which is the true party or does the brand also matter? This is because the results of the Maharashtra Assembly elections will be known today. These results will not only decide who will form the government. Rather, they will also decide which is the “true party.”
The election results will make it clear who is the real Shiv Sena and the real NCP. The legacy of both parties is also at stake.
Maharashtra’s two big parties, the Shiv Sena and the NCP, have dissolved. This is the first time after the split, when both factions of the two parties meet face to face. After the legal battle, Shiv Sena’s name and election symbol, Dhanush-Baan, are in the Shinde faction. Similarly, Ajit Pawar’s group also has the NCP’s electoral symbol Ghadi. This time, Uddhav Thackeray group’s Shiv Sena is in the fray with the election symbol of ‘Mashal’, while Sharad Pawar group’s NCP is in the fray with the ‘man blowing trumpet’ election symbol. However, ‘Thackeray brand’ is from Shiv Sena (UBT) and ‘Sharad Pawar brand’ is from NCP (SP).
After a long legal battle, considering the numerical strength, the court and Election Commission accepted the royal faction of Shiv Sena Shinde and the royal faction of NCP Ajit Pawar. But today the public will decide which is the “real Shiv Sena” and the “real NCP”.
The real PCN’s biggest fight will be from the Baramati seat. The Baramati seat has been held by the Pawar family since 1967. Sharad Pawar was the MLA from here from 1967 to 1991. Ajit Pawar has been winning since 1991.
In the Lok Sabha elections held this year, Supriya Sule of the NCP (SP) won. He had defeated his sister-in-law. His competition was against Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar. Supriya Sule defeated Sunetra Pawar by a margin of about 1.5 lakh votes.
In the assembly elections too, the contest in Baramati is between two Pawars. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar is contesting elections from Baramati for the eighth time. His contest is against Yugendra Pawar of the NCP (SP). Yugendra Pawar is the nephew of Ajit Pawar and the grandson of Sharad Pawar.
At the same time, the real contest between the two Shiv Senas will take place in the Kopri Pachpakhadi seat. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is in the fight from here. Shiv Sena (UBT) has lined up Kedar Dighe against him. Kedar Dighe is the nephew of late leader Anand Dighe. Eknath Shinde considered Anand Dikhe as his guru.
In this assembly election, there are one and a half dozen seats where there is a direct contest between the Shinde faction and the Shiv Sena of the Thackeray faction. In the Lok Sabha elections, Shiv Sena of Shinde faction had won 9 seats and Shiv Sena of Thackeray faction had won 7 seats. In some ways, the situation was almost the same.
But these results will make it clear who is “real” in the eyes of the public. If the results favor the Shinde faction, it would mean that the Shiv Sena can be formed even without the Thackeray brand. Similarly, the real fight for the NCP may end in the assembly elections themselves. If a disagreement meeting situation arises in Maharashtra, then Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar can meet again.
But Shiv Sena’s real fight will continue till the BMC elections. If the Shinde faction wins more seats, Thackeray will face a tough blow in the BMC elections. If Thackeray takes the lead, he will be able to maintain his dominance over BMC. Because Shiv Sena politics takes place only in local bodies.
