top of page

By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Resorts, Rallies, and Rebellion

Inside Mahayuti’s high-stakes firefighting for legislative council polls Mumbai: The public posture of ruling Mahayuti alliance radiates supreme confidence. Leaders from the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, and NCP led by Sunetra Pawar are predicting a clean sweep. Voting is scheduled for Thursday. Yet, beneath this calm exterior lies intense backstage panic. None of the alliance constituents are leaving any loose ends. No leader wants to take any risks, as everybody is trying to ensure...

Resorts, Rallies, and Rebellion

Inside Mahayuti’s high-stakes firefighting for legislative council polls Mumbai: The public posture of ruling Mahayuti alliance radiates supreme confidence. Leaders from the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, and NCP led by Sunetra Pawar are predicting a clean sweep. Voting is scheduled for Thursday. Yet, beneath this calm exterior lies intense backstage panic. None of the alliance constituents are leaving any loose ends. No leader wants to take any risks, as everybody is trying to ensure their real value is recognized and past political scores are waiting to be settled. This volatile environment has triggered widespread fears of cross-voting. It has given a massive boost to resort politics across the state. The upcoming contest spans 17 local self-government constituencies. The unique composition of this electorate makes the election highly unpredictable. The voters are not regular citizens. They are elected corporators, municipal councillors, and Zilla Parishad members. This setup makes the election hyper-localized. It offers a perfect shadow arena for local politicians to exercise leverage. Consequently, ruling alliance leaders are taking extraordinary measures to protect their flocks. Every single vote is being heavily guarded. Poaching Game Political parties have quickly locked down their voters to prevent poaching. Sources reveal that local body members from Sangli, Nanded, and Nagpur are already gone. They have been taken on special tours to Goa under tight supervision. Meanwhile, corporators from Nashik have been moved elsewhere. They are currently staying at a secluded luxury resort near Bhiwandi. These defensive tactics show how deeply the party bosses distrust their own members. Political managers are monitoring every voter’s movement around the clock. The ground reality across key cities highlights this deep regional friction. In Nagpur, the stakes are incredibly high. This by-election became necessary after state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule vacated the seat. He did so after winning his election to the state assembly. The BJP cannot afford a defeat in its primary ideological stronghold. Similarly, the Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli constituency presents a tough challenge. The BJP has fielded Arun Lakhani for this crucial seat. However, managing the intricate web of local body representatives in Chandrapur is testing the party machinery. Shifting Loyalties Other regions show similar vulnerability. In seats like Jalgaon, Nanded, and Sangli, traditional political loyalties are shifting. Compounding these internal threats is the BJP’s aggressive campaign strategy. The party chose to treat this council election as an opportunity. They wanted to expand their standalone organisational footprint across the state. Instead of relying on traditional top-down bulk voting through alliance bosses, the BJP targeted the electorate directly. The party organised an array of localised rallies, town hall meetings, and gatherings of the electorate. Some of these events registered an excellent response. However, this unilateral approach deeply irritated their alliance partners and many of these events saw dismal attendance by BJP’s alliance partners. Apart from this general apathy, the real challenge was that of open rebellion within the ruling alliance’s internal ranks. Disgruntled local leaders, disappointed ticket seekers, and ignored district presidents had expressed loud resentment. Even sitting MLAs and MLCs have signaled their displeasure over candidate choices. State BJP leaders had to spend considerable energy for the firefighting and ensuring that rebellion is contained. Yet many leaders are still unhappy with current regional power equations. Frantic Firefighting Fearing massive internal sabotage, the BJP top brass has launched a frantic firefighting operation. Senior leaders have been entrusted with strict responsibilities to oversee specific seats. They are managing all local arrangements personally. Top party managers are literally crisscrossing the state using helicopters and chartered flights. They are conducting last-minute pacification drives in every sensitive district. These leaders are holding urgent, closed-door meetings to placate angry regional chieftains. They are working hard to neutralize rebel factions. No disgruntled leader is being left unattended before Thursday morning. Promises of future political rewards are being distributed generously. Leaders are promising state-run board appointments and fresh development funds to buy peace. The frantic resort lockdowns and endless late-night negotiations reveal the true story of this election. The Mahayuti may still win a majority of these 17 seats through sheer resource dominance. However, the visible fractures in cities like Nashik, Sangli, Chandrapur, and Jalgaon reveal a fragile coalition. This council election has ceased to be a routine legislative exercise. It has mutated into a brutal internal audit of the ruling alliance’s unity. The final results will offer a definitive look at who holds the real power.

Sunetra Pawar in a crowd 50-plus contenders

Mumbai:  The Nationalist Congress Party’s efforts for a walkover in Baramati Assembly by its President and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Ajit Pawar may be a pipe-dream.

 

The by-poll has attracted a veritable circus of over 50-candidates with more than 60 nomination forms filed – negating the NCP’s public postures for an ‘unopposed election’ that created much political badmouthing.

 

As per Election Commission of India data, a total of 58 nominations were filed of which six were rejected on various grounds.

 

That leaves a whopping 50-plus nominees comprising independents or small parties still remaining in the fray, including the main rival, Congress-Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s formidable Adv. Akash M. More.

 

Nevertheless, NCP bigwigs are hopeful that many more, especially the non-serious candidates may fall by the wayside tomorrow – April 9 being the last date for withdrawals.

 

As Sunetra Pawar jostles in a crowd of contenders, many from the Mahayuti, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, her son Parth A. Pawar and other leaders have been publicly clamouring for a ‘consensus’ in memory of the late Ajit A. Pawar – who was killed in an aircrash on Jan.28.

 

Faced with the embarrassing predicament after the Congress gave a brutal tongue-lash to Parth Pawar for his utterances, now the NCP leaders have attempted to change the narrative.

 

Claiming that Sunetra Pawar’s victory is guaranteed, the effort now is to target a “historic mandate, with the highest number of votes polled and the widest margin over the nearest rival”, breaking records not only for Baramati Assembly segment but also of all the previous Pawar clan members who have won it.

 

Intended to be a solemn by-poll – necessitated after the tragic demise of the incumbent, Ajit Pawar, a 8-term MLA and 6-time DyCM – it has degenerated into a cacophony-cum-slanging match between the ruling Mahayuti and Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.

 

While NCP Working President Praful Patel has reached out to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for withdrawing Adv. More’s candidature, the state unit led by Harshawardhan Sapkal has maintained a tough posture.

 

“If public sentiments matter so much, then what about the peoples’ doubts regarding the (Baramati) plane crash… Why is the government not registering a FIR in the matter,” Sapkal shot back today.

 

Even as some Congress leaders like Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe and others hinted at withdrawing from the by-poll race, Parth Pawar’s unexpected onslaught on the grand old party again soured the atmosphere.

 

As a massive row boiled over, the Nationalist Congress Party (SP)’s Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Rohit R. Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders like Sanjay Raut and others sided with the Congress and justified its decision to field Adv. More in Baramati – rankling the NCP.

Comments

bottom of page