Maharashtra Assembly Election 2019

The tug-of-war to prove political supremacy has already started gaining pace in Maharashtra as the state goes to polls on October 21, along with Haryana. The counting of votes will be done on October 24 to find out whether people are content with the work done by the Devendra Fadnavis government or they have decided to give the Congress-NCP bonhomie a chance. The BJP-led NDA has been dominating the country’s electoral arena since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Infact, defying anti-incumbency factor, the ‘Modi wave’ amplified in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, with the saffron party, alone, claiming majority numbers. However, the voters’ mood is difficult to predict and the results will be an outcome of complex caste calculations and alliance compulsions in Maharashtra. In the 2014 polls for the 288-member state assembly, the BJP had secured 122 seats with Shiv Sena getting 63, Congress 42 and NCP 41 respectively. 2014 was the first time the BJP could install its chief ministers in Maharashtra and Haryana. Earlier too, they were part of the government, but as junior partners of Indian National Lok Dal in Haryana and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. This time, the results of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra could leave a considerable impact on the assembly elections. The alliance got 51 per cent votes and won 41 out of 48 parliamentary seats in Maharashtra. The BJP, with 28 per cent votes, had won 23 out of 25 seats it contested. Alliance partner Shiv Sena won 18 out of the 23 seats it contested, with 23 per cent votes. This time, after a round of muscle-flexing over the demand of larger seat share by both the BJP and Shiv Sena, the parties finally announced to fight the elections together. However, they are yet to announce the number of seats each will be contesting. On the other hand, as per reports, the Congress will contest 135-138 seats and the NCP will contest 122-125 seats. Earlier it was decided that the Congress will be contesting more seats than the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Another thing that will be interesting to see is whether the series of big decisions by the Modi government, including the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the Triple Talaq law, play any role in deciding the result of the election.