Threat of irrelevance looms over Congress, MNS

A record 203 candidates of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS and 116 of the Congress forfeited their deposits in the state assembly elections The MNS won just one seat out of the 239 candidates it had fielded the Congress managed a slightly better tally of 42 out of 287 contested constituencies The performance and the votes fetched by both the parties speak volumes considering the status and the importance both have enjoyed albeit in different perspectivesWhile the Congress has always enjoyed immense clout in state politics the MNS had become a reckoning force during the 2009 general elections to the Lok Sabha as well as the state assembly The Congress which headed the Democratic Front government since 1999 has received 9496 lakh votes 18 per cent vote share which is 5213 lakh less than the BJPrsquos 147 crore votes 278 per cent vote shareThe Congressrsquos popularity has dipped alarmingly It is more perturbing for Congress leaders who were confident of performing better than the NCP which according to them was lsquodamagedrsquo due to the charges of corruption and taints of scams Congress leaders appeared to be relieved when the NCP decided to snap ties as according to them the wave of antiincumbency was more against the NCP But the latterrsquos tally of 41 seats is just one short of Congressrsquos and its vote share is 1702 per cent 08 per cent less than the Congress In fact the NCP managed to increase its vote share as compared to the 2009 assembly pollsLosing old bastionsThe results reveal that the traditional vote banks such as those of minorities and Dalits have deserted the Congress The entry of the MajliseIttehadul Muslimeen MIM and the swing in Dalit and north Indian communityrsquos votes in favour of BJP has left the Congress in a vulnerable position Though the MIM has won just two seats its candidates were at second or third position in 14 constituencies All these seats are known bastions of the Congress In Mumbai and Thane the Congress won just 5 out the total 60 seats Votes from minorities and north Indians have also been shared by the BJP as the vote is for development if reactions from the communities are heardThe Dalit vote bank too has been split and the BJP has managed to win in 15 out of 29 constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes SC The Congress on the other hand had to contend with just two seats The trend visible in tribaldominated constituencies too is disquieting for Congress as the BJP has won 11 out of 25 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes ST as opposed to the Congressrsquos 5 winsFor the MNS the election results have come as a severe jolt and threat to its existence The party under Raj Thackerayrsquos leadership had scuttled the Shiv Sena and BJPrsquos joint bid for power during the 2009 general elections Thackeray had announced in 2009 that for him the state elections in 2014 were the real goal His blueprint for the development of Maharashtra was one of the talking points for the partyrsquos admirers But things appeared amiss when his party failed miserably during the Lok Sabha elections Plans for assembly elections went haywire with the late release of the ambitious blueprintIts traditional voters youth and women went with the BJP followed by the Shiv Sena leaving the MNS in a precarious position Raj Thackerayrsquos style of running his party on his whims and fancies took a serious toll His party cadre was mostly sitting idle for want of a programme to take the party forward He failed to convince his voters that he was serious and working steadfastly to achieve his partyrsquos goal in the interest of the common peopleToday both the Congress as well as MNS should be worried as they are threatened by the irrelevance of their current political agenda For the Congress it is due to the desertion by its traditional vote banks The MNS faces a big question mark over its credibility Unless serious efforts are made both the parties will find it difficult to tide over the crisis Unless corrective measures are taken quickly their cadres may dump their respective partiesThe writer is Political Editor of midday