Why Devendra Fadnavis and BJP won Maharashtra municipal elections
When Devendra Fadnavis took over as chief minister of Maharashtra, stalwarts in the BJP, Shiv Sena and even in the Congress-NCP, said that a Brahmin CM will not work for the state. His own party leaders were not ready to accept him as the undisputed leader.
The likes of Eknath Khadse, Pankaja Munde and even BJP state president Rao Saheb Danve tried to show they had merely accepted the decision of BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to choose Fadnavis as the leader of the BJP legislative party and the CM.
Sources say that many in the BJP were eagerly waiting for the local body elections to show that Fadnavis could not be accepted as the leader of the party.
But the results have proved to be a wake-up signal for many, and shown that the rules of politics might be changing.
The NCP and the Congress were banking on the results of the local council elections in 147 small towns to prove that the 2014 assembly elections were just a wave and that the BJP didn’t really have a stronghold in the hinterland.
The Modi government’s demonetisation move just added to their hopes as rural Maharashtra, predominantly an agrarian economy, was badly hit by the decision. Farmers were upset with the government as district cooperatives banks were not allowed to exchange notes and most of the farmer community holds accounts in these banks. At the height of the rabi season, many had complained they couldn't buy seeds as they were cash-strapped.
The Congress-NCP had thought this was an opportunity to win back their support base. Even the BJP’s own ally, Shiv Sena, openly opposed the demonetisation drive. Not only this, local newspapers were filled with headlines about the Maratha agitation.
Peace marches organised by the community saw lakhs of people out on the streets of various districts across Maharashtra with demands for reservation for the Marathas. The politically-strong community, protesting on the streets, was looked at as a threat to the Brahmin CM and a test during the local body elections.
But Fadnavis seems to have survived everything, since the BJP won 52 council chairman posts which were chosen by direct elections, and has emerged as the number one party in the state.
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| Keeping his cool during the Maratha agitation seems to have helped Devendra Fadnavis. (Photo: India Today) |
Keeping his cool during the Maratha agitation, engaging the community in dialogue and not making any statement to make the Marathas go against him seem to have paid off well. In fact, the demonetisation drive took away focus from the Maratha marches.
Fadnavis will now not just claim credit for the victory but also silently enjoy the defeat of his opponents in the party.
Fadnavis was never looked at as a popular choice in the BJP; apparently Pankaja Munde claimed the post more for she believed she enjoyed support from the OBCs in the state after her father and BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde’s demise.
But in the local council elections, Pankaja couldn’t even retain control of her home ground Parali and lost it to the NCP. So did BJP state chief Sanve in his home front of Jalana.
Otherwise, BJP has done very well in Vidarbha, North Maharashtra and even in Congress-NCP’s strongholds like Karad, Sangali in western Maharashtra and Sindhudurg in Konkan.
In a relentless campaign across the state for local council elections, Fadnavis gave the demonetisation decision a nationalistic tone. He asked people to join in supporting this decision by being "new freedom fighters".
And it looks like rural Maharashtra, despite facing a lot of hardships, bought the argument.
Another thing that went in his favour is his non-controversial image, which helped him compete against BJP state leaders, NCP leader Ajit Pawar and Congress's Ashok Chavan.
Sources in the BJP say Fadnavis will now be able to project himself to the BJP central leadership vis-a-vis the TINA (there is no alternative) factor - which he will likely use in February 2017, when 10 big cities including Mumbai will go for the municipal corporation elections (already seen as a mini-Assembly election), before the final exams in 2019 when the state will go for the Assembly polls.