Bahujan Vikas Aghadi president Hitendra Thakur.
Credit: X/@hitendravthakur
Mumbai: Hours before the EVMs tell what is in store for the mega-alliances - Maha Yuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi - the smaller parties have got into the act even as the leaders of the main political parties have strong independent candidates and rebels on speed-dial.
Meanwhile, the Maha Yuti (NDA) constituents — BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A.) partners including Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) have booked rooms in hotels and resorts in Mumbai — where the newly-elected MLAs would be put up collectively to prevent poaching by rival parties.
The counting of votes of the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is scheduled for Saturday. However, even before the outcome, the backroom negotiations have started.
The MahaYuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi have reached out to Hitendra Thakur, the founder of Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) and Bacchu Kadu, who commands the Prahar Janshakti Party.
The BVA is contesting eight seats while Kadu’s Prahar has put up 38 candidates.
Incidentally Kadu is part of Parivartan Mahashakti, which is floated by Yuvraj Sambhaji Chhatrapati of Kolhapur royal family.
The alliance also includes Maharashtra Swarajya Party founded by Sambhaji Chhatrapati and Raju Shetti of Swabhiman Paksha.
In the outgoing Assembly, BVA has three members while Prahar has two.
On the other hand, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder-president Prakash Ambedkar said that if his party gets numbers it would support the party or the group which is in a position to form the government in Maharashtra.
“If VBA gets the numbers, tomorrow, to support a party or an alliance to form the government in Maharashtra, we will choose to be with one who can form the government…We will choose power!…hum satta me rehna chahange,” said, the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of Constitution of India.
The VBA is contesting a whopping 200 seats, the second largest chunk after Mayawati-led BSP, which has 237 candidates in fray.
Former minister Bala Nandgaonkar, who is a close aide of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena founder-president Raj Thackeray, met deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who called the shots for the BJP in the state. While Raj has contested the Assembly polls independently, he had extended support to prime minister Narendra Modi for the Lok Sabha polls and did not field candidates.
The leaders of the two coalitions involving six parties spoke to their respective candidates to have a first-hand assessment of the ground situation.
Congress general secretary Ramesh Chennithala, who was in Mumbai, said that the MVA would form the government. Asked if there are plans to shift Congress MLAs to Bengalaru, he said: “Not required…we will form the government.”
Thackeray’s aide Sanjay Raut reiterated that it would get 160 plus seats and there is no issue in the formation of the new government.
The Samajwadi Party, which is contesting nine seats, is a member of the opposition alliance. On the other hand, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM is contesting 17 seats, however, it has contested the polls independently. In the outgoing Assembly, both have two seats each.
The Rashtriya Samaj Paksha founded by Dhangar leader Mahadev Jankar has put up 93 candidates after breaking away from the BJP-led grouping.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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