Haryana Elections Spark New Hope For BJP In Maharashtra's Political Arena

Mumbai: What bearing will the results of the Haryana assembly elections have on the polls which are around the corner in Maharashtra? A good deal. The hat-trick performed by the BJP in Haryana will provide a much-needed, big boost to the morale of the party in Maharashtra.

Until Tuesday, the Maharashtra BJP, which is leading the ruling Maha Yuti coalition, was unsure of itself. The party led by Devendra Fadnavis had earlier split the Shiv Sena, pulled down the Uddhav Thackeray government, and not satisfied with this, had gone on to engineer a vertical split in the Nationalist Congress Party led by the Maratha veteran Sharad Pawar, who fancied himself the infallible Machiavelli of Maharashtra. However, somewhere down the line, the BJP’s game plan started going awry.

A True Chanakya

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, leader of the rebel Shiv Sena faction turned out to be a true Chanakya, who used the Mahayuti to majorly strengthen his position, politically and otherwise. Fadnavis had clearly underestimated the political shrewdness of Shinde, who had projected himself as a mass leader, through government schemes like Majhi Laadki Bahin. With most of the exit polls predicting an easy win for the Congress in Haryana, the state BJP went deeper into political depression. However, the Haryana results have proved to be just the miracle it was looking forward to in the run-up to the Maharashtra assembly elections, which will be held next month.

Buoyed by the exit polls which forecast a clear win for the Congress in Haryana, the state unit of the party had started throwing its weight around. Its leaders like Nana Patole had made it clear to allies in private that their party would emerge as the single largest constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the chief minister would be a Congressman.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray was keen on the MVA declaring its CM candidate before the assembly polls since that would give a face to the campaign. However, his suggestion was shot down by both NCP honcho Sharad Pawar and Patole.

Haryana Outcome Results In Cracks In The MVA

The Haryana outcome has, in fact, resulted in cracks in the MVA. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi gratuitously observed that the Congress would lose in a direct fight with the BJP. The import of her statement was that the Congress would need the support of the Shiv Sena (UBT) if it was to come anywhere near power. Her remark infuriated Congress ideologue Jairam Ramesh, who told her in so many words to ‘shut up’.

The outcome of the Lok Sabha elections was like political Viagra for the MVA. But now, its effectiveness is likely to be on the wane, post the Haryana polls. Clearly, the MVA needs to completely rethink its strategy if it is to recapture power in Maharashtra.