Maharashtra civic poll results to decide fate of Devendra Fadnavis government
MUMBAI: How stable is the Devendra Fadnavis governement in Maharashtra? It’s not just the BMC elections but results of nine other municipal corporations, which will be announced February 23 will determine the fate of the Fadnavis government in the state, according to a number of politicians and political analysts ET has spoken to.
It’s not just the Shiv Sena but even the NCP that is looking at the polls with keen interest for if the BJP in spite of all odds manages a credible performance in the other municipal corporations like Thane, Nashik, Pune then it would be a message to other parties that the BJP is not facing anti-incumbency. The Fadnavis government would be in the clear.
“If the BJP manages to put in a good performance in other municipal corporations in spite of going alone then it would not be wise to pull down the government and go for a mid-term poll. In that case it is better that the BJP government is in power for a while,”said a Congress leader.
He, however, added, “The BJP would be in real trouble however if the party is not able to come up triumphs in the civic elections. If the Sena withdraws support and even if the NCP supports the government from outside, the support would be for just around six to seven months. If it has to survive on NCP support then this government won’t last till 2018,”said a Congress leader.
A Sena leader said he did not want to divulge what the party would do but said it is not afraid of withdrawing support because of the above calculations. “Staying out of power for two and a half years is not what we would like. However, in this case, we believe that the government may at the max run for a few more months after we withdraw support,”said the Sena leader. Political analyst Kumar Ketkar believes that this is the most likely outcome. “This is the most likely outcome if the BJP is not able to do well in the municipal corporation polls. The Sena would also keep an eye on Uttar Pradesh election results and would pull out from the government if it knows that the BJP is not forming a government there,”said Ketkar. He agrees that the widely anticipated NCP support to the BJP government after the Sena pulls the plug will not last for long. “The NCP is not going to support this government for its full term. If this government is going to be dependent on their support then I don’t think that it would complete its full term,”said Ketkar.
The Sena is already keeping its powder dry. According to its leaders, it is going to raise a number of peoplerelated issues relating to Maharashtra and UP before the government. “ If these issues are not addressed then we would have no hesitation in pulling out from the government,”said a Sena leader. The Sena has already spoken about farmer loan waiver in UP. It it is going to make similar demands in Maharashtra and then pull out if the Fadnavis government is not able to fulfill it, said sources.
It’s not just the Shiv Sena but even the NCP that is looking at the polls with keen interest for if the BJP in spite of all odds manages a credible performance in the other municipal corporations like Thane, Nashik, Pune then it would be a message to other parties that the BJP is not facing anti-incumbency. The Fadnavis government would be in the clear.
“If the BJP manages to put in a good performance in other municipal corporations in spite of going alone then it would not be wise to pull down the government and go for a mid-term poll. In that case it is better that the BJP government is in power for a while,”said a Congress leader.
He, however, added, “The BJP would be in real trouble however if the party is not able to come up triumphs in the civic elections. If the Sena withdraws support and even if the NCP supports the government from outside, the support would be for just around six to seven months. If it has to survive on NCP support then this government won’t last till 2018,”said a Congress leader.
A Sena leader said he did not want to divulge what the party would do but said it is not afraid of withdrawing support because of the above calculations. “Staying out of power for two and a half years is not what we would like. However, in this case, we believe that the government may at the max run for a few more months after we withdraw support,”said the Sena leader. Political analyst Kumar Ketkar believes that this is the most likely outcome. “This is the most likely outcome if the BJP is not able to do well in the municipal corporation polls. The Sena would also keep an eye on Uttar Pradesh election results and would pull out from the government if it knows that the BJP is not forming a government there,”said Ketkar. He agrees that the widely anticipated NCP support to the BJP government after the Sena pulls the plug will not last for long. “The NCP is not going to support this government for its full term. If this government is going to be dependent on their support then I don’t think that it would complete its full term,”said Ketkar.
The Sena is already keeping its powder dry. According to its leaders, it is going to raise a number of peoplerelated issues relating to Maharashtra and UP before the government. “ If these issues are not addressed then we would have no hesitation in pulling out from the government,”said a Sena leader. The Sena has already spoken about farmer loan waiver in UP. It it is going to make similar demands in Maharashtra and then pull out if the Fadnavis government is not able to fulfill it, said sources.
