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Legacy, loyalty, power: ‘Maha’ battle for political supremacy in Maharashtra explained | India News – Times of India
However, the battle for Maharashtra is not that simple. As voters determine their representatives to 288 seats, politicians will compete for their prestige, legacy and popularity. Basically, there are several mini-battles within this battle that you shouldn’t miss.
If you’re also confused about who the real Sena is, what the uncle vs. cousin fight is and more, here’s a quick guide to everything you need to know as Maharashtra decides the champion.
Tale of two blocks: Mahayuti versus MVA
At the state level, the ruling Mahayuti and the MVA are contesting parliamentary elections to form the next government. Both alliances also have three major parties. The biggest challenge for both sides was to agree on the seat-sharing deal, which was only decided at the last minute. The scenario became clearer only after all the nomination papers were filed.
In Mahayuti, the BJP got the largest share and is contesting on 149 of the total 288 seats. CM Shinde’s Sena is contesting on 81 seats and Ajit Pawar’s NCP on 56 seats.
On the other hand, in the MVA, Congress got 101 seats, Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena 94 seats and Sharad Pawar’s NCP 85 seats.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and the Farmers and Workers Party of India, part of MVA, have nominated nine and four candidates each.
Sena vs Sena
The battle in Maharashtra is also a historic one with Bal Thackeray’s legacy at stake. Bal Thackeray’s party Shiv Sena was divided into two factions when Eknath Shinde broke away from Uddhav. To understand this better, we need to take a step back.
In the last Assembly elections in Maharashtra in 2019, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena contested the polls as part of the NDA against the Congress-led UPA.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by BJP-Shiv Sena, won a clear majority in the 288-seat assembly. However, disagreements arose over the Prime Minister’s position. Despite having only 56 seats, Shiv Sena insisted on appointing Uddhav Thackeray, Balasaheb Thackeray’s successor, as Maharashtra’s top leader. The BJP, which won 105 seats, remained committed to having Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister.
The political impasse resulted in Shiv Sena’s exit from the NDA, ending their long-standing political partnership. This development benefited the Congress-NCP alliance as Shiv Sena made an unexpected political change by joining them and forming the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
In November 2019, Maharashtra witnessed the formation of an MVA government, with Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray assuming the role of chief minister, with the support of NCP and Congress.
In June 2022, Eknath Shinde led a section of Shiv Sena MLAs to revolt against the leadership of then party president and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. After the split, Shinde-led party formed an alliance government with the BJP and took over as chief minister.
While the Supreme Court is yet to pronounce its verdict on the plea challenging the Maharashtra Speaker’s order declaring the Shinde-led Sena the real Sena, the two factions will battle it out over the party’s identity in the upcoming elections.
Of the 288 seats, the two Senas are competing directly with each other on 51 seats.
In 2019, the undivided Sena won 56 seats in alliance with BJP. Of these, 41 MLAs joined the Shinde faction and 15 stayed with Uddhav Thackeray.
Uncle vs Nephew vs Nephew
Like the Sena battle, the NCP vs NCP match will also take place on the battlefield of Maharashtra with Pawar Senior and Junior taking on the prestige battle. Like Sena, there was another party split in Maharashtra that changed the political landscape of the state.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) emerged in 1999 after a significant split when Sharad Pawar, PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar questioned the leadership credentials of Sonia Gandhi, who was then heading the Congress Party. Despite its initial stand against the Congress and Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, the NCP subsequently changed its stance and became part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance coalition in 2004.
The party, as part of the MVA coalition, backed Uddhav Thackeray as Maharashtra CM.
However, after Shinde’s move, in July 2022, the NCP was also divided as Ajit Pawar, along with 40 MLAs, joined the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti coalition. He was subsequently appointed deputy prime minister, accompanied by eight other leaders who were given ministerial posts.
Senior politician Sharad Pawar retained the support of around 15 MLAs. Based on these figures, the Election Commission of India officially recognized the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the ‘real’ NCP.
In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the undivided NCP had won 53 seats. Now, both factions of the NCP are in direct battle for 36 seats in the state.
Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar, who broke away from his uncle Sharad Pawar, is now in direct conflict with his cousin Yugendra Pawar in the Assembly elections. Yugendra was fielded by Sharad Pawar from Baramati against seven-time MLA Ajit Pawar.
In the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule defeated Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat by a huge margin of 1,58,333 votes. Ajit Pawar, who had then admitted that it was a mistake to bring politics into the family by pitting his wife against cousin Supriya, has gone on the offensive against his uncle Sharad Pawar this time. Ajit has accused Sharad Pawar of creating division within the family and taking politics to a low level.
BJP vs Congress
The two national parties, BJP and Congress, got the largest share of seats in their respective alliance. As part of Mahayuti, the BJP has fielded candidates on 149 seats and the Congress, as part of MVA, is contesting on 101 seats.
Of these, the two parties are directly contesting 75 seats, mainly in the Vidarbha region.
This area spans the Naxal-affected Gadchiroli region and extends to Nagpur, where the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological base of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has its headquarters. The area represents the core of the state’s socio-political activities. landscape.
The direct flight also serves Mumbai, Thane and Pune.
In the 2019 Assembly elections, the Congress and the BJP were in direct competition for 66 seats, of which the Congress managed to secure only 16 while the BJP claimed 50.
Make or break the battle: who will prevail?
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections marked a significant shift in Maharashtra’s political landscape as it was the first polls after recent power reshuffles. The Mahayuti won only 17 seats.
The Congress won the highest number of seats, winning 13 of the total 48 constituencies. Both the Shiv Sena-UBT and the BJP got equal representation with 9 seats each, while Sharad Pawar’s NCP managed to win 8 constituencies.
All eyes are now on the battle for the 288 parliamentary seats that will be held on November 20. Who has power in Maharashtra – Mahayuti or MVA, we will know on November 23. The Election Commission may have decided who the real Sena and NCP are, but it would be interesting to see whether the voters prefer the OG Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray or not.
