Assembly election results 2017: The Gujarat effect in Maharashtra

As results from Gujarat trickled in haphazard manner on Monday the BJP leadersrsquo body language spoke more profoundly than the intermittent words they uttered Legislators and ministers were taken by surprise when it became clear that the party hasnrsquot performed as expected in the neighbouring state The imminent concern that they countered in the wake of outcome in Gujarat was securing their own fate in the Assembly polls to be held in Maharashtra in 2019Narendra Modi gestures at the start of a speech at the party headquarters in New Delhi PicAFPSeveral BJP legislators told midday that though they had to appear happy for the sake of the occasion they werenrsquot satisfied but worried as to what was in store for them in a fastchanging scenario ldquoTo be frank with you my inner feeling is different Irsquom dejected and Irsquom really worried about my futurerdquo said a BJP MLA who represents a rural constituency in Vidarbha He said many others shared his sentiment because the rural population was very demanding of his partyldquoLook what happened in rural Gujarat where BJP has lagged behind the Congress Similar unrest is simmering in Maharashtra We need to tackle this unrest as early as possible Urban areas may not be as difficult as ruralrdquo said the MLAOn the other hand the ongoing legislative in Nagpur had increasing number of Congressmen basking in glory despite their party falling short of numbers to make a government in Gujarat With a spring in their walk and new vigour in their voice the Congress leaders couldnrsquot stop themselves from taking a pot shot at their BJP counterparts They were happy that the Congress has been able to give BJP top shots a run for their money ldquoIt doesnrsquot matter to us even if we donrsquot make a government in Gujarat The people of Gujarat have supported us in beating unbearable arrogance of BJP and they have showed that Modi wave does not exist any longer A real takeaway from Gujarat is the energy that will keep us fighting BJP in years to come Irsquom confident that we will be able to come back to power in Maharashtrardquo said Vijay Wadettiwar deputy leader of Congress legislative party Wadettiwar said the people have exposed BJPrsquos fake model of development ldquoThe situation here is no different People are fed up and we need to tap that antigovernment sentiment And wersquore sure that the Rahul Gandhiled Congress will topple BJP in 2019rdquo he said A buoyed state Congress president Ashok Chavan Gujarat resultswas BJPrsquos moral defeat ldquoOur show under Rahul Gandhi has enthused us BJPrsquos dirty tricks did not work and the voters did not allow BJP to reach a threefigure mark We are happy that we have won 20 seats morethat the previous pollrdquo he saidDevendra Fadnavis PICAFP CM Devendra Fadnavis attributed the success in Gujarat to the people of Gujarat who have shown faith in BJP ldquoVictory in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh clearly indicates that the people of this nation believe in PM Narendra Modi leadership and his politics of vikas and vishwas development and trustrdquo he told reporters He said the victory was massive because the people voted BJP to power after being in power for 22 long years ldquoWe got about 50 votes It speaks volumes and gives a clear verdictrdquo he said Parallels between Gujarat amp Maharashtra In Gujarat the Patel community played a significant role in reducing BJPrsquos seats over unfulfilled demand for reservation a political strong Maratha community is all set to make their longpending demand for a quota in education and jobs a rallying point ahead of Lok Sabha and Assembly polls But what offers BJP a big relief is that Marathas donrsquot have a leader like Hardik Patel who can bind the community together The BJP has made several attempts to weaken Maratha agitation by splitting the leadership It will again be up to Congress and NCP if the two forms an alliance to use Marathas as an affective political tool Like Gujarat one prominent communityrsquos agitation for quota has made other castes and communities to raise similar demands It would be interesting to see how this polarisation works forthe ruling party and oppositionAlso read BJP wins elections in Gujarat PM Narendra Modi says the country is ready for reformAgrarian crisis is yet another serious concern that BJP has been facing ever since it came to power in Maharashtra Discontent is simmering in rural and semiurban areas where farmer families dominate the voting population Delay in implementing a loan waiver scheme failure in controlling falling prices of farm produce and increasing incidents of farm suicides have turned into political issues that need governmentrsquos prompt intervention Demonetisation and GST were among prominent highlights of campaigning in Gujarat This may find a place in Maharashtra if they continue to affect people even in 2019Alliances yet againThough unlike Gujarat where a twoparty setup is in place for decades Maharashtra has a fourparty structure in which the BJP Congress Shiv Sena and NCP form the basic lineup the two states have identical issues that decide their political discourse In Lok Sabha the BJP and Sena were in a pact while the CongressNCP too contested as an alliance However respective alliances broke ahead of 2014 Assembly polls making it a fourway fight The Congress under Rahul Gandhi was smart enough in joining hands with Padidar organisation and leaders of other communities that felt ignored by the BJP government Despite being disappointed with its own leaders who did not deliver much to benefit their community most of Marathas in Maharashtra are most likely to have a tacit understanding with the Congress and NCP to ensure BJPrsquos defeat if the Fadnavis government doesnrsquot fulfil their demand Rest of Marathas are expected get split between BJP and Sena and that in true sense will pose yet another challenge for BJP Muslim community which had drifted towards communityspecific parties has contributed significantly to Congressrsquos victory in local body elections in Maharashtra Another major vote bank of Dalits has rarely supported one party in the recent past and it will again to left to negotiating skills of major parties to get as many splinter Dalit groups to side with them Will the Congress and NCP come together yet again If Ajit Pawar of NCP is to believed then the two parties have almost decided to shun differences On Monday he showered praises on Congress president Rahul Gandhi ldquoRahul Gandhirsquos performance and maturity has given us a new hope Though Irsquom NCP worker I have no hesitation is saying that the Congress has raised our moral by leaps and bound I see a strong possibility of us getting together to fight BJPrdquo he said Interestingly the Congress accused NCP of causing defeats of its 10 candidates by contesting these seats in Gujarat If Congress and NCP get together can BJP and Sena end their love and hate relationship Sena opposed BJP in Gujarat but returned home empty handed Senarsquos mouthpiece Saamna has been spitting venom against the BJP during Gujarat campaign On Monday BJP shamed Sena by hiring a band named Saamna and ridiculed it for scoring a big zero Insiders in Sena said they would not take BJP lying down anymore ldquoWe may have lost all seats in Gujarat but the antiBJP feeling that voters showed has given us some more teeth to bite the BJP Wersquore not going to get dictated by the BJP anymorerdquo said a senior Sena minister Sources said alliance in Lok Sabha polls may not be hard to come by because of previous arrangement between the two But reaching a seat sharing formula for Assembly election will remain a bone of contention because the BJP will not agree to vacate seats where it defeated sitting Sena MLAsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereTrending Video