The day of 16th January has been recorded in golden letters in the pages of history in the politics of Maharashtra. The historic victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its Mahayuti alliance in the 29 municipal corporation elections has completely changed the scenario of politics in the state. The election results have established BJP as an umbrella power and with this historic victory, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has emerged as the leader of Maharashtra politics.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Maharashtra Before the civic elections, we had clearly said that we will break our own record. Something similar happened. If today saffron is waving from Mumbai’s BMC to Nagpur’s streets, then behind it is the chessboard of Fadnavis, which has defeated every attempt of the opposition. For the first time, BJP is going to become the mayor of Mumbai. Last time, out of 27 municipal corporations, BJP had won 15 corporations. Out of 29 municipal corporations, the BJP alliance took the lead in 24.
Talking about the country’s richest municipal corporation BMC, the results of all 227 seats have been declared, in which BJP has emerged as the largest party. BJP has won a total of 89 seats, while Eknath Shinde faction’s Shiv Sena has won 29 seats. That means the alliance of both the parties has crossed the majority mark of 114 in the BMC elections. In the opposition camp, Uddhav Thackeray faction (UBT) has won 65 seats. Congress has got 24 seats, MNS has got 6 seats, NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) has got 3 seats and NCP-SP has got 1 seat. Apart from this, 9 seats have gone to other parties and independents.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Called it a record breaking mandate. He says that this victory is a victory of public trust on Prime Minister Modi, who has created a new language of development not only in Maharashtra but in the entire country. Prime Minister Modi said that the people of Maharashtra have fully supported the agenda of ‘development and honesty’.
Fadnavis’ magic continues even after 12 years
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often said that the pair of ‘Narendra and Devendra’ means one and one eleven. Because, Devendra Fadnavis’s political career has been synonymous with the rise of BJP in Maharashtra. In the year 2013, when Modi was leaving Gujarat and moving towards Delhi, at the same time the command of Maharashtra BJP was in the hands of Devendra Fadnavis. When the Modi government was formed at the Center in 2014, Maharashtra got its first BJP Chief Minister in the form of Fadnavis. This was the first time that BJP formed the government with absolute majority in the state.
After becoming the Chief Minister, Fadnavis created an image which proved helpful in making him popular among the public. Even today, after 12 years, Fadnavis has proved that he is not just a Chief Minister but a seasoned strategist. Fadnavis, who has the distinction of becoming the first Chief Minister to complete a five-year term in Maharashtra after 49 years, had put his credibility at stake in this civic election and the result is in front of everyone.
Four pillars of Fadnavis’ strategy!
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis continued to strengthen the party despite criticism for his strategy in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. There are four main pillars of Fadnavis’s strategy behind this great victory of BJP in Maharashtra – balance of Hindutva and development, focus on local issues, effective reply to the opposition and engagement with the public.
1. Balance of Hindutva and development
The biggest basis for the victory of BJP and Mahayuti alliance was the balance established between Hindutva and development. Devendra Fadnavis made it clear in his election campaign that Hindutva is not just an emotional or cultural issue, but the ideological foundation of good governance and development. He presented issues like temple, faith and identity by linking them with development works like roads, water, health and employment. This balance instilled confidence among urban and middle class voters and weakened the opposition’s narrative that the BJP was only a party pursuing polarization politics.
2. Focus on local issues
Fadnavis emphasized on hyper-local issues in the municipal elections. He prominently raised everyday issues like sanitation, waste management, water supply, health services, women’s safety, condition of schools and local roads. During the campaign it was told how the Municipal Corporation directly affects the lives of the citizens. BJP candidates did public relations at the ward level, listened to the local problems and laid out a roadmap to solve them. This gave voters the confidence that the BJP is not limited to just state or national politics, but also takes their local problems seriously.
3. Effective reply to the opposition
The Thackeray family has had influence on Mumbai and BMC for a long time. The Thackeray family, Pawar family and Congress alliance tried to enter the electoral fray with full force, but lack of mutual coordination and lack of clear leadership proved to be detrimental for them. On the contrary, Devendra Fadnavis’ election strategy, strong organizational structure and micro-management neutralized every move of the opposition. BJP exposed the negative politics of opposition, allegations and issue of nepotism to the public. This created a perception among voters that the opposition is only engaged in the power struggle, while the BJP is focused on administration and development.
4. Engagement with the public
Devendra Fadnavis’ deep connect with the public was also a major reason for this historic victory. He presented himself not just as a politician but as a Ramsevak, Karsevak and Maharashtra Sevak. This image was especially effective among young and pro-Hindutva voters. The ‘Jago Hindu’ song, digital campaign and aggressive but controlled use of social media took the BJP’s message home. Fadnavis’s simplicity, clear statements and direct communication with grassroots workers strengthen his credibility.
BJP mayor in Thackeray’s ‘fortress’
Mumbai’s BMC has been considered the center of the ‘political treasury’ and ‘identity’ of the Thackeray family for decades. Uddhav and Raj Thackeray came together after 20 years to save the fort whose foundation was laid by Bal Thackeray, but this experiment failed in front of Fadnavis’ Chakravyuh creation.
The strength of the Thackeray family in BMC elections can be understood from the fact that it has elected 6 mayors of BMC so far. There was a time when Congress used to dominate Mumbai and BMC, but Bala Saheb Thackeray uprooted Congress from power and made Mumbai the center of his and his party’s politics.
After the formation of Shiv Sena-BJP government in 1995, the first thing that was done was to rename Bombay as Mumbai. For the first time in the year 1968, Bala Saheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena contested elections in BMC and won 42 seats. After this Balasaheb Thackeray expanded the politics of Shiv Sena. The politics of Balasaheb Thackeray’s politics was based on two big issues – on one hand, Marathi identity and on the other, strict Hindu identity. Balasaheb Thackeray instantly made Shiv Sena the most powerful force in Mumbai, which had 6 mayors in BMC.
By becoming a mayor for the first time in Mumbai, BJP has made it clear that the voters of Mumbai are now voting not only on emotional slogans but on vision.
Fall of the forts of Pawar and Congress?
Not only in Mumbai, Fadnavis’ magic also worked in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Even after uniting the groups of Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, they could not stop the storm of BJP. At the same time, Congress, which had emerged as a major force in the Lok Sabha elections, could not even repeat its previous performance in the municipal corporations. From Nagpur to Solapur, Fadnavis’ strategy has completely shaken the Congress base.
This victory of Fadnavis has given rise to a big national discussion that the experiments of opposition unity against BJP are now expiring. Be it the pairing of ‘two boys’ in UP, the alliance of ‘AAP-Congress’ in Delhi or the reunion of ‘Raj-Uddhav’ in Maharashtra… every ‘mathematics’ has failed in front of the chemistry of Modi and Fadnavis.
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