The spreading saffron
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Such was the saffron surge that it wiped away all opposition parties in the election fray. From Thane to Pune to Nashik to Nagpur, the Sena and the BJP bathed the state in saffron hue. While the Sena has broken the Congress’s hold over Behrampada by winning for the first time from there, the BJP has gate-crashed into Sena stronghold in Mankhurd-Govandi by snatching the seat from Rahul Shewale’s family.
Though the Sena has retained the Thane municipal body, the BJP’s winning streak continued throughout the state. The BJP is the principal player in Ulhasnagar winning 34 seats and has breached the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) bastion in Pune and PimpriChinchwad. The BJP has won 74 seats in Pune, 30 in Pimpri-Chinchwad, 33 in Nasik and 70 in Nagpur.
The BJP is now the chose one in major civic bodies in Vidarbha and is way ahead of Congress-NCP in the Zila Parishad with 403 seats. The alliance of the Congress and the NCP had thrived on their strong cadre network in the rural areas. BJP had not made in-roads in the villages, while Sena does not seem to look beyond Mumbai and Thane. These elections highlight the change in the voting pattern. Political observers say the mandate is a thumbs down to dynasty rule of the likes of Deshmukh, Patil and Pawar.
Mandate 2017 shows the diminishing hold of the Congress and the NCP over Maharashtra. The slide of the Congress since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections continues. Yet its leaders are just as haughty. Congress MP Milind Deora, instead of accepting defeat gracefully, tweeted, “Mumbaikars seem content living with potholes, flooding, malaria & water tankers.”
The results could not have come at a better time for chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who has been battling the Sena despite the party being an ally in the government. Holding 65 rallies across the state, Fadnavis had staked his future in these polls. Now he has emerged as the face of the BJP in the state.
Moreover, Fadnavis’s newfound stature would mean the Sena will have to scale down its criticism of the CM. From now on, it’s the BJP that will call the shots.