Early results trends shows that a Mahayuti landslide in Maharashtra is likely, with the BJP securing the highest number of seats. This would solidify the party's dominance in India's political landscape and counter speculation about a decline in its popularity. It would also vindicate the Eknath Shinde government that has been engaging women and the youth, not through ideology, which had been the mainstay of Maharashtrian politics, but through welfare schemes.
As counting progresses, BJP ally Shiv Sena is also on a strong wicket, with the party's leader and Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde himself leading by over 22,881 votes from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi area, which is crucial to the battle. Such a victory would reinforce Shinde's image as a winning and unifying force, crucial for maintaining the party's strong position within t allies.
The Eknath Shinde government had attempted to canvass voters with welfare initiatives like the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, which transfers Rs 1,500 monthly to women in low-income families and promises to increase the amount if re-elected. The election results will reveal whether these measures and the BJP's campaign slogans, emphasising Hindu unity, resonated with voters. It is also a verdict on the two major political splits in Maharashtra in recent years, the NCP into the Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions and the Shiv Sena into the Uddhav Thackeray and Shinde factions.
In August 2022, with its issue Minimum Mumbai, the Outlook magazine looked into the Maharashtra split and its consequences. Kumar Ketkar highlighted how the Shiv Sena abandoned its pre-poll alliance to form a government with Congress and NCP and how the BJP is eyeing to topple it and grab India's financial capital. Also, Ajeet Kumar Pankaj wrote about how Shinde's return to Shiv Sena affected Uddhav Thackeray's efforts to take Shiv Sena in a new direction.
In Outlook's December 1, 2024 issue, Who is the Outsider?, the magazine, Barkha Mathur had explored the Ebb and flow of Marathi 'Asmita' in Maharashtra politics, while Shweta Desai had touched upon Eknath Shinde's age of betrayal of the Thackerays.
You can read more stories about the issue of Minimum Mumbai and Who is the Outsider?
