The question of winning or losing the assembly elections in Maharashtra is not as easy as in other states. There are not 2 or 3 parties here, there are 6 parties in total, facing each other through two different alliances. The BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar) and the Congress have all joined the fray with their respective claims. On the other hand, the Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) is in the fray, while on the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Shiv Sena and NCP Mahayutti. There is a head-to-head competition between Mahayuti and MVA. Just a few days ago, the people of Maharashtra defeated the MVA in the Lok Sabha elections. Accordingly, the MVA should gain an advantage in the parliamentary elections. But just as Congress lost power in Haryana, the same may happen in Maharashtra.
1-Maratha Reserve
Under the leadership of Jarang Patil, the demand for Maratha reservations continued in Maharashtra. The Maratha population accounts for about 34% of the state and is politically aware. If the community is angry at either side, the repercussions can be widespread. If viewed from this perspective, Maha Vikas Aghadi appears to be very powerful in front of his rival Mahayutthi. First, like Jats in Haryana and Rajasthan, Maratha votes went to the Congress. In the second Maha Vika Aghadi, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, the son of Balasaheb Thackeray, the symbol of Maratha self-respect, were also together. On the contrary, the Bharatiya Janata Party is the largest party among Mahayutthi. Even today, the BJP does not have any legitimate Maratha leader. Hence, the BJP appointed Eknath Shinde as the chief minister. Another Maratha, Ajit Pawar, also joined the Mahayutthi alliance, but he was accused of betraying his uncle and thus became a villain among the Marathas.
2- Asaduddin Owaisi
Asaduddin Owaisi’s MIMIM has the ability to spoil the contest in many seats in Maharashtra. The party wants to be part of the MVA alliance in Maharashtra, but Congress may not approve this. MIMIM’s performance was to contest 44 seats and win two seats in the 2019 parliamentary elections. The total vote rate was 1.34%. This is better than 2014. When the party ran for 22 seats, it succeeded in winning two seats and only received 0.93% of the total vote. Although AIMIM has always claimed to be a political party for Muslim interests, its influence is very limited compared with the so-called secular parties among the Muslim community, but today its vote rate is less than one percent. The number of seats varies greatly. In this case, slighting the MIMIM would have put both alliances in a difficult position and now, with less than 1% vote share in Haryana, the Congress has to sit in opposition.
The same happened in the Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections where Mahahavikas Aghadi defeated the ruling Mahayuti due to a mere 0.7% increase in votes . Mahayut won 17 seats with less than one percent of the vote, while MVA won 31 seats. AIMIM contested in 44 seats in 2019, winning Malegaon and Dhule and finishing second in Aurangabad Central, Aurangabad East, Byculla and Solapur City Central. The party’s influence was reflected in a further 13 seats, where its vote margin exceeded the margin of victory. The BJP and its allies won seven of the seats, six of which belonged to the Congress-NCP alliance.
3- If Hinduism is further divided it will be destroyed
The Shiv Sena and the BJP have been engaging in politics in the name of Hindutva in Maharashtra. Now the Shiv Sena is divided. Former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, the son of hard-core Hindu emperor Bala Saheb Thackeray, is currently under attack by the Muslim community due to his aggression against the BJP Accepted but Shiva Sena (UBT) remains among Muslims. Savarkar’s name came up. Rahul Gandhi often made comments about Savarak that Marathas should never like him. The party was involved in the decision to change the name of a city named after the Mughals, and it was clear that the new form of Shiv Sena (UBT) was to the advantage of the BJP. Meanwhile, slogans of dividing Maharashtra are gaining popularity.
4-Align with Ajit Pawar
Ajit Pawar is considered to be the biggest reason for the defeat of Mahayoti, the policy alliance of the BJP, in the Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections. In fact, Ajit Pawar is accused of serious corruption. The BJP itself has been accusing Ajit Pawar of running a scam worth hundreds of millions of rupees. Even two days before Ajit Pawar joined the NDA, senior BJP leaders were accusing him. The Sangh itself opposed Pawar’s inclusion in the government and his appointment as deputy chief minister. The image of the BJP has been tarnished after Ajit Pawar joined the alliance. People have repeatedly said that all corrupt practices of Ajit Pawar have been washed away by the BJP’s washing machine. Apart from this, due to the weak power, Ajit Pawar’s image in Maharashtra has become very negative since he betrayed his uncle Sharad Pawar and joined Mahayut , the impact on the BJP is natural.
5- Girl Plan
Maharashtra’s ‘Girls Sisterhood Scheme’ could be a game-changer for the Mahayutty government. Madhya Pradesh also has a similar scheme to provide financial assistance to women, where Rs 1,200 is deposited into women’s accounts every month, which has been of great help to the BJP’s wealth accumulation. In Maharashtra, bounded by Madhya Pradesh, Rs 1,500 is paid monthly. Approximately 340 74 000 116 women are benefiting from this programme. The government plans to expand it further in the future. The monthly amount would also increase, but Congress has also committed to such a program in many states. As women voters play a growing role in voting, the Mahayutth alliance can certainly benefit from this scheme.
6-Treason
Betrayal in the Maharashtra elections is one aspect where at least two parties will seek votes. When the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) keep appearing in public, it certainly shows how much betrayal they have suffered. Uddhav Thackeray was betrayed by Eknath Shinde and Sharad Pawar was betrayed by his nephew Ajit Pawar. Ajit Pawar’s party was wiped out in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra and people seemed furious that Ajit Pawar had betrayed his uncle Sharad Pawar. Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule defeated Ajit Pawar’s wife in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, which seemed to show the disapproval of the people of Maharashtra Sharad Pawar sympathized. Similarly, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also broke ranks with the party and became the CM of the state. The same message was also conveyed to the common people and Uddhav Thackeray was often cheated. No parties, no posts.
7- Preparation for Dalit sub-quota
After getting support from non-Jatav Dalits in Haryana, the BJP has decided to classify Dalit reservations in Haryana. Notably, the Supreme Court recently decided to create a category in Dalit reservations. To gain support from the non-Ambekkarised Dalit castes in Maharashtra, the BJP could also promise to implement the Supreme Court ruling here.
