How Mahavikas Aghadi’s Mistakes Can Help Mahayuti Win Maharashtra Assembly Elections
Mumbai : In the trends coming from Maharashtra, Mahavikas Aghadi seems to be a complete failure. The way Mahayuti is getting clear lead, forget about majority, it looks like a clean sweep.
Voting was held for 288 seats in Maharashtra on November 20, in which over 65 percent voting took place. Under the banner of Mahavikas Aghadi, Congress fielded candidates on 101 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) on 95 and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) on 86 seats. In the ruling Mahayuti, BJP contested the maximum number of 149 seats, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena on 81 seats and Ajit Pawar-led NCP on 59 seats.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) had a golden opportunity to seize power but completely missed the mark. It’s clear that the MVA’s mistakes have cost them dearly.
Key points and analysis:
Unable to digest the Lok Sabha success :
In 2022, Maharashtra witnessed a political upheaval. The MVA government collapsed due to a rebellion in the Shiv Sena. Uddhav Thackeray lost both the Chief Ministership and the command of the Shiv Sena. Shortly after, a similar story unfolded with Sharad Pawar.
The MVA received sympathy in the Lok Sabha elections due to these events. Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar defeated both Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar in the Lok Sabha elections. However, it seems that the MVA leaders couldn’t handle their success and their overconfidence proved detrimental.
Right from seat sharing to the Chief Minister’s post, the MVA leaders were constantly at loggerheads, and the result is evident.
Internal disputes over the Chief Minister’s post:
The MVA leaders were constantly at loggerheads over who would become the Chief Minister, leading to a negative public perception.
Unable to Diminish the Impact of Mahayuti:
The MVA failed to effectively challenge the ruling alliance, particularly on issues of governance and populist measures.
Given the circumstances under which Eknath Shinde became the Chief Minister and the way he was running the government, the MVA had a fantastic opportunity to come to power, but they failed.
The most important thing for the MVA was to reduce the impact of the Mahayuti, to counter the government’s plans and women voters, and unable to corner the government on governance issues. In the end, Rahul Gandhi tried to make Dharavi an issue by linking it to businessman Gautam Adani, but in other matters, the MVA leaders lagged behind.
Every government faces an anti-incumbency wave. When a party returns to power, one of the main reasons behind this is the lack of options available to the voters. MVA missed this opportunity completely.
Unable to counter the BJP’s Hindutva agenda:
Hindutva has had a significant influence on Maharashtra’s politics since Balasaheb Thackeray’s time, and after the split in the Shiv Sena, the BJP started targeting Uddhav Thackeray on this very issue, and now it can be said that they were successful.
The MVA leaders could not counter the slogans of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “Baantenge toh katenge” (If you divide, you will die) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Ek hain toh safe hain” (If we are united, we are safe), even though many leaders within the BJP, along with Ajit Pawar, were opposing it.
Now, if Mahayuti wins in Maharashtra, a big question will remain unanswered for Maha Vikas Aghadi, that is if the BJP can lose Ayodhya even after contesting elections on the Hindutva agenda, then why couldn’t it be defeated in Maharashtra?
