Maharashtra all set for MahaYuti vs MVA contest as high-octane campaigning ends

Mumbai: The high-octane campaigning for the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections ended on Monday as the MahaYuti comprising BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP hopes to weather the anti-incumbency and come back to power while the Maha Vikas Aghadi consisting of Congress, Shiv Sena UBT and NCP-SP is optimistic to repeat its Lok Sabha performance defeating the grand alliance.

Nearly 9.70 crore voters including 47,389 from the age group of 100-150 are eligible to exercise their voting right on November 20. A total of 4,136 candidates from 158 parties and independents are in the electoral fray during the current elections. The polling will take place at 1,00,186 polling stations.

The BJP-led MahaYuti alliance has approached the voters based on two and half years of the state government’s work making a strong pitch for support for continuity in the state's development story. It projected the Maha Vikas Aghadi as one who puts brakes and roadblocks in the state’s development while arguing that after the MahaYuti came to power key infrastructure projects including Samruddhi Marg, Mumbai Metro, Mumbai Coastal Road and Atal Setu were completed while launching several other projects. The MahaYuti also painted the state's pre-eminence in attracting domestic and foreign direct investments during its tenure while blaming the Maha Vikas Aghadi for the state losing its ranking during its tenure.

The grand alliance is riding on the charisma and popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state government’s freebies including welfare and development schemes worth Rs 1 lakh crore with a focus on the Ladki Bahin Yojana. The MahaYuti has promised to increase the pace of the state’s development laying emphasis on inclusiveness through its 10 guarantees including the rise in monthly benefit to Rs 2,100 from Rs 1,500 under Ladki Bahin Yojana, waiver of farmers’ loans, price stabilisation for essential commodities, creation of 25 lakh jobs with a monthly tuition aid of Rs 10,000 for 10 lakh students through specialised training programmes, focus on solar and renewable energy and making Maharashtra a $1 trillion economy.

The MahaYuti also targeted the Maha Vikas Aghadi government over the issues of scams, irregularities in handling Corona and loss of major investments to other states during its two-and-a-half-year rule.

The MahaYuti had roped in central leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP President JP Nadda apart from state deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who held more than 150 rallies crisscrossing Maharashtra. The Prime Minister and Home Minister asserted that MahaYuti means Speed and when MahaYuti is there progress of the state is ensured. The PM and HM in particular projected the Maha Vikas Aghadi anti-development while strongly projecting the alliance as pro pro-growth alliance.

Adityanath raked up the issue of Batenge to Katenge urging the voters, especially from the Hindu community “Don't be divided, as you will be safe only if you are united.” The Prime Minister came out with the Ek Hai toh Safe Hai slogan while cautioning the voters of the Congress party’s alleged conspiracy to divide the people on the basis of caste and religion. In addition, the BJP also flagged off the “vote jihad” which was also opposed by the Ajit Pawar faction.

However, NCP, a crucial ally in the MahaYuti, took strong objection against these slogans saying that it won’t work in Maharashtra which is progressive in its thinking. The Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was the first to express his displeasure saying that his party would not compromise on its ideology based on the thoughts of social reformists including Chhatrapati Shivaji, Mahatma Phule, Shau Maharaj and BR Ambedkar. Party nominee and former minister Nawab Malik, who has been nominated by NCP despite BJP’s strong objection, slammed the BJP saying that religion-based politics is short-lived, reminding that after the Babri Masjid demolition, the Kalyan Singh government did not last.

On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has appealed to the voters to vote out the MahaYuti alliance for the flight of capital and investments, farmers’ plight especially in the wake of increasing farmers suicides, lower prices of cotton and soybean against the guaranteed ones, lack of jobs for youth and educated, rise in cases of molestation and rapes, deteriorating law and order, rampant corruption, collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji statue in Sindhudurg district and its surrender before the Delhi seat. The Maha Vikas Aghadi came out with a “Traitors’ Report” against the MahaYuti especially to focus on the manner in which BJP engineered splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP threatening actions from the central probe agencies.

The opposition targeted the MahaYuti government for the increase in the revenue and fiscal deficits especially due to dole outs and rising debt burden. They also alleged corruption and exchange of money during the award of various contracts that were done by carrying out “non-transparent” tendering processes.

Moreover, the Maha Vikas Aghadi cornered the MahaYuti over the issue of change in the Constitution and the scrapping of reservations as done during the general elections. It squarely blamed the MahaYuti for not addressing the issues with regard to the reservation of Maratha and OBCs, Dhangar communities by accusing it of using them for their political gains.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi in a bid to checkmate the MahaYuti in its Panchsutri (five-point manifesto) announced the Mahalakshmi Scheme promising a monthly aid of Rs 3,000 to women and free travel in state transport buses. This apart, the Maha Vikas Aghadi announced a monthly aid of Rs 4,000 to unemployed youth, a waiver in crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh and an incentive of Rs 50,000 for those who are repaying the farm loans regularly.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi also assured caste census and removal of the 50 per cent reservation limit which is to address the quota demands from Maratha, Dhangar, OBCs and Muslim communities. It has also assured free medicines and medical insurance of Rs 25 lakh. It also promised the voters that the government would not help a select few industrialists but take pro-development decisions while safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders.

The Shiv Sena UBT in particular announced the construction of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s temple in every district.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi ran its campaign by bringing in Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy in addition to state leaders such as Balasaheb Thorat, Nana Patole (Congress), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena UBT) and Amol Kolhe (NCP-SP). They promised a guaranteed price of Rs 7,000 per quintal to soybeans while attacking the MahaYuti and the BJP-led NDA government for its neglect of soybean farmers especially when they had to sell soybean at Rs 3,500-Rs 4,100 per quintal against the guaranteed price of Rs 4,892 per quintal. They also criticised the MahaYuti for promising a price of Rs 6,000 per quintal for soybean saying that it has been promised in the 2013 and 2019 elections also.

Kharge, Pawar and Thackeray in their rallies lashed out at the BJP for its Batenge Toh Katenge and Ek Hai to Safe Hai slogans saying that it was done to polarise the voters.

Both MahaYuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi by and large succeeded in calming the rebels but they still fear that some of the rebels which are still in the fray may eat into the votes of their official nominees. The role of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi will also decide the fate of the nominees of MahaYuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Despite claims and counterclaims and also personal attacks, the Assembly election has turned out to be a prestige battle for MahaYuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi.