top of page

By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

MVA protests for third day:

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies continued their agitation for the third day in different parts of Maharashtra with an aggressive state Congress hitting the streets today to protest the detention of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra and other Congress leaders yesterday, here on Wednesday. State and city Youth Congress again carried out vociferous protests near Mantralaya raising slogans, carrying banners and placards slamming the...

MVA protests for third day:

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies continued their agitation for the third day in different parts of Maharashtra with an aggressive state Congress hitting the streets today to protest the detention of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra and other Congress leaders yesterday, here on Wednesday. State and city Youth Congress again carried out vociferous protests near Mantralaya raising slogans, carrying banners and placards slamming the state and central Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and when some attempted to enter inside, they were prevented by a strong posse of Mumbai Police deployed there since Monday. As tensions appeared to escalate, the police clamped down by detaining top state and city Youth Congress leaders including President Harshwardhan Sapkal, Vijay Wadettiwar, Bhai Jagtap, Hussain Dalwai, and many others. Thousands of students carried out a fresh demonstration at Dadar west Shivaji Park to vent their ire at the police action on Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s agitation in New Delhi on Monday. Several MVA leaders and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray visited or expressed solidarity with the protesting youth, comprising many women. Opposition’s Voice The Congress leaders alleged that Rahul Gandhi was targeted by the BJP-led government to muzzle democratic dissent, suppress the Opposition voices inside and outside Parliament and trampling upon the peoples' Constitutional Rights to protest peacefully. Defying pouring rains in the city on Wednesday, Congress workers along with activists of MVA allies, staged a noisy demonstration in Chembur and another group attempted to storm the BJP office in south Mumbai, condemning the assault on students in New Delhi and the detention of the Gandhi siblings. Senior Congress leader Hussain Dalwai flayed the government for “misusing the police” to gag democratic rights and the protests were intended to defend the Constitution and democracy against the BJP’s policy of intolerance of dissent in any form. “This is gross injustice. We are not allowed to protest against the government failures as they are misusing the police. The PM is scared of taking the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as he could be the next. We want to highlight to the BJP to govern the country as per the Constitution,” Dalwai declared, interacting with the media at Nariman Point. As the BJP also threatened to launch counter-protests, the police cordoned off and deployed a precautionary security ring around Tilak Bhavan, the state Congress headquarters, as leaders from both sides exchanged political darts and looked aggressive enough for a confrontation. MVA ‘bandh’, ‘Tricolour’ march today The state is set for another two days of political turmoil as the MVA has announced a Maharashtra shutdown (‘bandh’) on Thursday followed by a non-partisan ‘Tricolour Peace March’ on Friday. MVA allies, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) President Prakash Ambedkar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, besides other leaders of the alliance, informed of the state and city level actions today. Ambedkar appealed to the masses and also the BJP youth to participate wholeheartedly in the bandh tomorrow and claimed that students’ bodies, parent-teachers associations, colleges, universities, other institutes of higher education, private coaching institutions, and other governmental departments could support the shutdown, as it has now become a national issue. Aaditya sought the peoples’ participation in the ‘Tricolour Peace March’ on the theme of “One Nation, One Emotion” planned on July 24 afternoon to Shivaji Park, in support of environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, the Cockroach Janta Party, plus the youth and students protesting in New Delhi. Terming it as a national citizens’ movement rather than a political party, he called upon the people not to carry any party flags but unite under the National Tricolour to assert democratic rights and express resentment against the government’s high-handed policies. Meanwhile, Mumbai Police have already imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 across the city from July 23-to- August 6, apprehending the possibility of law-and-order disturbances.

Mahayuti sweeps MLC polls amid MVA cross-voting

Mumbai: Maharashtra Legislative Council elections have exposed the soft underbelly of both the ruling as well as the opposition combine. While the BJP couldn’t prevent rebellion in Nashik to ensure election of Mahayuti candidate, the MVA challenge was decimated under defection and cross-voting at several places effectively preventing them from adding anything to their strength in the upper house of Maharashtra legislature.


Despite these internal vulnerabilities, the ruling Mahayuti alliance asserted absolute dominance in the Local Authorities constituencies, effectively routing the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Out of the 17 seats that went to the polls, the Mahayuti—comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and the Sunetra Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)—secured a massive victory by winning 16 seats. The final tally stood at 11 seats for the BJP, three for the Shiv Sena, two for the NCP, and one for an independent candidate. With six Mahayuti candidates having already been elected unopposed before the June 18 voting, the battleground was left open for the remaining 11 constituencies, where the BJP demonstrated a flawless strike rate.


Rebel’s Victory

However, the ruling alliance’s strategic flaws were laid bare in the Nashik local authorities constituency, a seat allocated to the Shiv Sena within the Mahayuti quota. The official Mahayuti candidate, Narendra Darade, suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Gokul Gite, an independent candidate and BJP rebel. Gite secured a decisive 357 votes in the first round itself, effortlessly crossing the winning quota of 303 out of 605 valid votes, while Darade managed only 248. This outcome triggered immediate political tremors. Gokul Gite’s brother, Ganesh Gite—a known supporter of BJP Minister Girish Mahajan—launched a scathing attack on Darade, citing his severe lack of public contact over the last eight years. Despite intense pressure from Mahayuti leaders to withdraw, Gokul Gite remained in the fray, allegedly conducting a covert campaign fueled by voter dissatisfaction and tacit support from the MVA and local outfits. Following Darade’s allegations of betrayal, Minister Uday Samant announced that a detailed report analyzing the exact cause of the defeat would be submitted to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.


Nagpur’s Record

Conversely, the MVA’s humiliation was systemic and most pronounced in the Nagpur constituency. BJP’s Rajiv Potdar registered a record-breaking victory, defeating Congress candidate Atul Londhe by a staggering margin of 682 votes. Despite the MVA possessing an estimated numerical strength of 211 votes, Londhe managed a mere 130 votes. This massive cross-voting prompted Londhe to allege that the BJP engaged in horse-trading, claiming votes were bought for Rs 10 lakh each.


The debacle led Congress leader Vikas Thakre to demand strict disciplinary action against the “traitors,” signaling a deepening internal crisis within the grand old party. Similar narratives of cross-voting echoed in Satara, where BJP’s Dhairyashil Kadam defeated NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) candidate Abhaysinh Jagtap. Kadam secured 593 votes against Jagtap’s 292, with political observers estimating that over a hundred MVA votes shifted to the BJP due to the strategic maneuvering of local leaders.


Marathwada Magic

The Dharashiv-Latur-Beed constituency provided further evidence of the MVA’s unraveling, heavily influenced by the ongoing “Operation Tiger”—the systematic defection of Uddhav Thackeray loyalists to the Eknath Shinde camp. BJP’s Basavaraj Patil secured a landslide victory with 845 votes, defeating Congress’s Mahesh Deshmukh, who received just 124 votes. This massive margin was facilitated by an estimated 150 MVA votes shifting to the BJP, a move widely linked to the anticipated defection of Thackeray-faction MP Om Raje Nimbalkar to the Shinde camp. In Nanded, BJP’s Amar Rajurkar completed a hat-trick of victories by securing 339 votes, decisively defeating the MVA-backed candidate, Krishna Patil Ashtikar. Krishna’s father, MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, was also reportedly caught in the crosshairs of the defection drive, leading to widespread confusion among MVA voters and sealing his son’s defeat with a meager 84 votes.


Ultimately, while the Legislative Council results are a resounding endorsement of the Mahayuti’s political arithmetic, they serve as a stark warning to both factions. The ruling alliance must address its rogue elements, but the widespread cross-voting and the MVA’s inability to hold onto its core voter base indicate that the opposition is severely struggling to maintain internal cohesion ahead of the impending assembly elections.

Party-wise Performance:
• BJP: 11 seats (2 unopposed)
• Shiv Sena: 3 seats (2 unopposed)
• NCP: 2 seats (both unopposed)
• Independent: 1 seat (BJP rebel)

Comments

bottom of page