Ahead of the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls, “‘Marathi Asmita’ (Maharashtrian Pride) and Self Respect” are becoming election issues in Maharashtra, much to the detriment of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies.
Maharashtra is not an ordinary state and resents a low level of public debate at a time when daggers have been drawn by rival sides to come up the winner.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest barb dubbing octogenarian Sharad Pawar as “‘bhatkati atma’ (wandering soul)” has not gone down well with people. Latching on to the issue, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar (NCP-Sharad Pawar) are putting their detractors in the dock.
The BJP, Shiv Sena-Eknath Shinde and the NCP-Ajit Pawar are also being accused of “surrendering before the Delhi rulers”, a sacrilege in Chhatrapati Shivaji’s Maharashtra.
On the other hand, a change in the BJP’s campaign strategy has also become visible. Reports after the two phases of the polls have worried the BJP high command.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased his focus on Maharashtra. This is witnessed through more trips to the key state after realising that the state leaders of the ruling front called Maya Yuti are unable to check the Opposition front comprising mainly the Shiv Sena-Uddhav, the NCP-Sharad Pawar and the Congress. The Opposition alliance is called Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
The problem is that the BJP and its allies have failed to come up with an effective issue to checkmate the combative Opposition. The Prime Minister, despite being the star campaigner of the ruling alliance, has not been able to make the correct noises to connect with the locals. Modi has nothing to say on unemployment and price rise at a time when local issues are influencing the national election in the state.
After playing the ‘Hindu-Muslim’ card, invoking ‘Pakistan’ to polarise voters on the religious lines, calling the Shiv Sena ‘nakli’ (fake) and dubbing Sharad Pawar as a “‘bhatakti aatma’ (wandering or lost soul)”, Modi is now projecting himself as a ‘well-wisher’ of Uddhav Thackeray.
It is a shrewd move to create confusion in the Opposition ranks by spreading suspicion among anti-BJP voters. His attack on Sharad Pawar has not gone down well among the people, and has consolidated the Opposition unity further.
The MVA leaders including Sharad Pawar, and Uddhav Thackeray are accusing Modi of working against Maharashtra's interests and development and taking away big-ticket investment projects of Maharashtra to Gujarat. “The projects came to Telagaon and Rajgad in the state but were taken away by Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to Gujarat”, is the Opposition leaders’ refrain.
“You are talking about Gai (Cow) but we are talking about ‘Mehangai’ (price rise),” Uddhav hit out at BJP, at an election meeting in Raigad.
“Modi's growing number of election meetings in Maharashtra shows his nervousness”, Pawar said, accusing him of “lowering the standard of public discourse”.
Narendra Modi is expected to address two rallies in Mumbai in the coming days. The BJP has left three seats to the Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena in Mumbai after sensing the mood of the people.
This is because the BJP has been known as the party of non-Maharashtrians in Mumbai. It is contesting three seats in Mumbai and fielded two non-Maharashtrians and one outsider.
While Union minister Piyush Goyal (BJP) is fighting against Bhushan Patil (Congress) in Mumbai North, Mihir Kotecha (BJP) is taking on Sanjay Dina Patil (Shiv Sena -Uddhav) in Mumbai North East and lawyer Ujjwal Nikam (BJP) is challenging Varsha Gaikawad the Mumbai Congress chief) in Mumbai North Central.
In the remaining three seats: Mumbai North -West, Mumbai South and Mumbai South-Central the fight is between the Shiv Sena-Uddhav and the Shiv Sena-Eknath Shinde. They have fielded Marathi candidates.
The candidates are: Amol Kirtikar versus Ravindra Waikar (Mumbai North-West), Arvind Sawant versus Yamini Jadhav (Mumbai South) and Anil Desai versus Rahul Shewale (Mumbai South Central ).
Modi also has to defend the candidates and their relatives who are being probed by the central agencies.
The polling for the third phase will show the pattern of voting in Maharashtra which could set the trend. A total of 11 constituencies will be going to the poll on May 7. They are: Baramati, Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur, Hatkanangale (sugar-rich belt in Western Maharashtra) , Raigad, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg (Konkan) and Latur, Osmanabad.