Mumbai: In all of Maharashtra, the Congress managed to win just the one seat in Chandrapur, where the current Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir lost due to the anti-incumbency factor, as he was contesting for the fifth time.
The biggest setbacks to the Congress, however, were in Nanded and Solapur. Former chief ministers Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde lost on their respective home turfs. Chavan, who had stood up to the Modi wave in 2014, failed to repeat it in the face of a Modi-tsunami.
As for the NCP, though it retained its numbers, it suffered major setbacks in Madha and Maval. Sanjay Shinde was considered a safe bet in Madha, but he lost to the BJP candidate Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar, the last-minute entrant to the BJP from the Congress.
For the first time in Maharashtra’s political history, a member of the Sharad Pawar family lost in their debut election. Parth, the son of Ajit Pawar, was fielded from the Maval Lok Sabha seat, which comprises part of Pune and Raigad district, up to Panvel-Kharghar in Navi Mumbai. It is being said that Parth pressurised the senior Pawar for the ticket and the senior Pawar silently taught his grand-nephew a lesson.
The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi factor
In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, the MNS emerged as a new political force in the state and dented the Shiv Sena-BJP vote, which ultimately helped the Congress. In these elections, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), led by Prakash Ambedkar and the AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, dented the Congress-NCP alliance’s core vote bank of the Dalits, Muslims and OBCs.
The Congress-NCP lost at least 7 to 8 seats because of the VBA. Ambedkar secured around 1.70 lakh votes in Solapur, ensuring Sushilkumar Shinde’s defeat.
The VBA candidate Yashpal Bhinge secured around 1.70 lakh votes in Nanded, resulting in the defeat of Ashok Chavan, by around 50,000 votes. The Maratha dominance in the Congress-NCP has fuelled unrest among the smaller castes in the OBCs and Dalits and their leaders fought with great spirit and aggression.
Setback for BJP
The most famous constituency of Maharashtra is Baramati and the obvious reason is Sharad Pawar. Baramati is considered the bastion of the Pawars. The BJP had claimed that it would pocket Baramati this time.
Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil had practically stationed himself there to ensure the victory of the BJP candidate Kanchan Kul. But the sitting MP, Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, not just won the election but also doubled her winning margin this time.
Nagpur’s victory emboldens Gadkari
It did prove to be a cakewalk for Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in Nagpur after all. Though Nana Patole secured more than four lakh votes, Gadkari won the battle. Until now, it was said that Gadkari was likely to lose.
The large number of Dalit, Muslim and OBC voters were said to have been supporting the Congress candidate. This victory has emboldened Gadkari and the RSS may throw its weight behind him, to keep Modi in controll.
Shiv Sena gained
For five years, the Shiv Sena vehemently criticised the BJP and Narendra Modi for their failure and arrogance. But the last-minute surrender of the Sena and the BJP to each other helped forge their alliance.
This helped both avoid vote division. It was being said that the Sena would suffer a major blow due to double standards but the alliance saved it from such a fate and helped them to retain tally. However, it lost three sitting MPs from Amravati, Shirur and Raigad.
Agrarian crisis failed to dim BJP-Sena chances
The most shocking aspect of the result is that despite the resentment of rural voters and farmers, the BJP-Sena managed to ride out the anti-incumbency wave. The drought and the failed loan waiver scheme had indicated that the BJP government would suffer losses in rural areas and the Congress-NCP would gain. But that did not happen.