The three-day session of the state legislature begins today, in which the newly elected MLAs will take oath of membership of the state Assembly. In 2009, when a similar session was underway, from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) MLAs had stopped Samajwadi Party Abu Asim Azmi from taking oath in Hindi. They had even tried to slap Azmi.

MNS’ antics, designed to further the party’s pro-Marathi agenda, made headlines in newspapers across the country. Five years later, MNS which had won 13 seats in its debut election has hit rock bottom with one seat. Ramesh Wanjle, the man who snatched the microphone from Azmi, is no more. Ram Kadam, who allegedly attempted to slap Azmi, is now a BJP MLA. Azmi himself is the lone MLA in the state from his party. This has amply proven that the politics of hatred, regional bias and communal intent has lost its sheen. Voters have chosen development and rejected scams. Only time will tell how BJP measures up to the aspirations of voters.