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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Fractured Fortress

Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor’s emphatic victory in the Bankipur by-poll, that ended three decades of uninterrupted BJP dominance, is a classic instance when even the safest urban strongholds of a comfortably ensconced ruling party are no longer immune to local discontent and shifting social coalitions. That said, the parallels between Bankipur and the 2023 Kasba Peth bypoll are too striking to dismiss as isolated by-election quirks. In the latter case, the BJP had similarly conceded a...

Fractured Fortress

Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor’s emphatic victory in the Bankipur by-poll, that ended three decades of uninterrupted BJP dominance, is a classic instance when even the safest urban strongholds of a comfortably ensconced ruling party are no longer immune to local discontent and shifting social coalitions. That said, the parallels between Bankipur and the 2023 Kasba Peth bypoll are too striking to dismiss as isolated by-election quirks. In the latter case, the BJP had similarly conceded a seemingly surefire seat that had remained in its grasp since 1995. Both defeats followed the departure of long-serving legislators. Both occurred in constituencies where the BJP began as the overwhelming favourite. By-elections are notoriously unreliable predictors of general elections as their turnout is generally lower, and local grievances loom larger while voters often feel freer to register dissatisfaction without changing governments. Yet they remain valuable political barometers because they reveal the health of party organisations beneath the sheen of national leadership. Bankipur is especially significant because like Kasba Peth in Pune, it represented the party’s urban, upper-caste heartland in Bihar. Prashant Kishor’s victory, therefore, carries symbolism beyond its numerical margin. Making his electoral debut, he converted what had long been considered an impregnable BJP constituency into the Jan Suraaj Party’s most consequential victory. The explanation lies less in ideological realignment than in coalition management. The BJP has, in recent years, sought to broaden its social base by expanding its appeal among the lower caste, economically disadvantaged caste groups. That strategy has served it well nationally, particularly in states where expanding beyond traditional support was essential for electoral growth. Yet every expansion creates new anxieties among an established base. Just as in the Kasba bypoll, the Bankipur result suggests that sections of upper-caste voters, long regarded as among the BJP’s most dependable supporters, felt increasingly alienated. Their perception was that the BJP’s electoral calculations had shifted decisively towards cultivating newer caste constituencies. Kasba Peth offered an earlier version of the same lesson. The BJP entered the contest expecting organisational strength and historical advantage to outweigh local dissatisfaction. Instead, the opposition successfully transformed the by-election into a referendum on complacency, exploiting organisational fatigue and local resentment. Bankipur appears to follow a similar script. Candidate selection became contentious, local anti-incumbency lingered beneath the surface, and the opposition presented itself as the vehicle for voters seeking to send a message rather than engineer a regime change. While this, in no way, implies an imminent collapse of the BJP’s broader electoral dominance, dominant parties ignore by-election warnings at their peril. Safe seats are valuable not because they guarantee victories, but because they reveal the strength of a party’s deepest political relationships.

Discussions on among allies for govt formation: Ajit Pawar

Updated: Nov 29, 2024

Ajit Pawar

Mumbai: Deputy Chief Minister and NCP head Ajit Pawar on Monday said discussions were underway among the Mahayuti partners to finalise a formula for the new government formation in the state.


Speaking to reporters at Karad in Satara district, Pawar also acknowledged the contribution of the government's Ladki Bahin scheme, which provides financial assistance to women, in the Mahayuti's victory in the just-concluded state assembly polls.


The NCP leader also assured that the alliance was working cohesively following its resounding victory in the state assembly elections.


Pawar paid tributes to Maharashtra's first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan at his memorial in Karad on his death anniversary.


In the state poll results declared on Saturday, the Mahayuti, which comprises the BJP, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, bagged an impressive 230 of the 288 assembly seats.


The focus has been on BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is being seen as a strong contender to occupy the top post for the third time, as his party bagged 132 of the 149 seats it contested in the state.


Notably, Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar has said his party legislators feel Eknath Shinde should continue as the chief minister of the state, where the ruling Mahayuti scored a landslide victory in the assembly polls.


Ajit Pawar said, "We will decide what formula to work out on the cabinet formation among the three parties."


Reflecting on the elections, he acknowledged the contribution of the Ladki Bahin scheme in the Mahayuti's win.


"We cannot ignore that Ladki Bahin helped us in this election. We are grateful to them (women voters)," he said.


Defending the scheme, Pawar, who is also the state finance minister, further said, "Had I been opposed to the Ladki Bahin scheme, I would not have presented it in the House. I discussed the scheme with several retired finance officers before finalising it."


Pawar also dismissed concerns raised by some opposition leaders over the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), pointing out that polls in states like Punjab, West Bengal and Telangana, governed by their political opponents, have been conducted with the same system.


Commenting on members of same families contesting against each other during the elections, Pawar expressed annoyance over repeated questions on it.


He then asked, "Why was my close nephew fielded? Atram's own daughter was fielded against him, and even Rajendra Shingne faced a similar challenge. I don't want to comment further on this. I have got tired of apologising for fielding my wife against Supriya. Yugendra was in business, then why was he prepared to contest against me?"


In the Baramati assembly seat, Ajit Pawar was pitted against his nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar.


In Aheri seat, NCP leader Dharamraobaba Atram's daughter Bhagyashree Atram contested against him on NCP (SP) ticket.

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