The Maharashtra Jigsaw Puzzle
Politics is a field that can throw more surprises than any other field. To add cherry on the cake, Indian politics has an even more enhanced twist to such surprises which often make the public wonder who did they even vote for. The national landscape will show mundaneness in Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) ruling the country democratically for the past 9 years, but the states give a different flavor altogether. Such spicy flavors of politics also give an indication of the upcoming General elections in 2024 at a national level.
One such spicy flavor in the puzzle is the Maharashtra political landscape that has been tussling for power among multiple individuals since 2022. As we know, the present government until last week comprised of an alliance between Shinde led Shiv Sena and BJP. However, another twist was added when Ajit Pawar along with some rebel factions of NCP joined hands in the coalition government and took oath as ministers. The very reason Eknath Shinde and his rebel MPA had broken apart from Shiv Sena was owing to its alliance with NCP and the same party has come back to bite it again. Such an arm twist in power would have confused you as a reader. The jigsaw puzzle in Maharashtra is very complicated but, in a nutshell, the present Maharashtra government comprises of Eknath Shinde Shiva Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar led NCP with Eknath Shinde as the Chief Minister and Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar as the deputy Chief Ministers. The puzzle may seem to be confusing to the public but there is a clear intent behind forming this puzzle to set BJP up for success in the future.
1. Potential disqualified MLAs from Shinde Sena Camp: The 10 MLAs for whom judgement will be passed on their disqualification by the court on August 10 does not bore good signs for the existing government. With major sources claiming that a judgement against the MLAs is almost confirmed, BJP had to start building its backup to ensure that the government does not fall apart so close to the elections. In addition, this would have spelled victory for Uddhav Thackeray and team against the present government. By bringing in Ajit Pawar, they have ensured that the judgement will be more of a victory of Uddhav Thackeray against the rebel MLA instead of BJP.
2. Preparedness for Lok Sabha 2024 and State Assembly elections: The public perception has not been strong in Maharashtra of the existing government owing to malpractices and internal politics being played by Eknath Shinde. The loyalists of Shiv Sena are still to come to grips with the disloyalty Eknath Shinde and his faction showed which could spell doom for the coalition government in the upcoming state and Lok Sabha elections. By forming allegiances with NCP, BJP has established a rock-solid support from public which will help them strengthen their position in Maharashtra in the upcoming elections.
3. Sharad Pawar Influence: Sharad Pawar is a stalwart of Indian politics and can swing the elections by his support. Though he is still not supporting BJP, the mere presence of NCP and the greed for power in future can lead to Sharad Pawar switching allegiances towards BJP amidst the promise of cabinet roles in State and even national level. This influence can help BJP crack Maharashtra yet again after the failure in 2020.
4. Building fault lines in opposition parties: with Lok Sabha elections coming up next year, BJP is going all guns blazing to not only establish its dominant position, but also expose fault lines in opposition parties so that the so called “MahaGathbandhan” does not take place. By allowing Ajit Pawar to come into the government, BJP is indicating its cohesiveness against the opposition parties whose members are more than willing to rebel in the quest for power.
The puzzle will continue for Maharashtra and will only be solved for the public in 2024. Till then, the musical chair of power is something which we all can enjoy and wait eagerly for Ajit Pawar to become the chief minister very soon. On the other hand, this puzzle is very much solved by BJP and is being played just as they have planned.
