Bombay. Maharashtra is the state where the BJP peaked for the first time in the last 10 years and then reached the same position in 2009. Here the BJP contested all elections except one assembly election in alliance with Shiv Sena, but as a partner minor. Whether the BJP won more or fewer seats than the Shiv Sena, the reins of the alliance were always in the hands of the Shiv Sena. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won 41 of 48 seats. In this, BJP won 23 seats and Shiv Sena won 18 seats. This alliance has never won so many seats in Maharashtra before. After Narendra Modi became prime minister, the BJP realized its growing strength and in the 2014 assembly elections, demanded more seats from the Shiv Sena.
When Shiv Sena refused to grant more seats, the BJP contested the elections alone and achieved great success by winning 122 seats. However, the BJP was still 23 seats short of a majority and had to take the help of the Shiv Sena, which had 63 seats, to form the government. But now there was a rift between the two parties and during the five-year rule, there was a long series of disputes between the BJP and Shiv Sena. After achieving the status of the number one party in Maharashtra, the BJP kept making mistakes one after another, due to which it once again reached the same position it held in 2009 in the 2024 Lok Sabha election result.
Who won how many seats in 2024 Lok Sabha elections:
Congress – 13 seats
Shivsena (Uddhav) – 09 seats
BJP – 09 seats
PCN (Sharad) – 08 seats
Shivsena – 07 seats
The mistakes that were responsible for the BJP’s fall from its peak to zero in Maharashtra were repeated not just once but repeatedly.
BJP’s first mistake:
After fighting the 2014 assembly elections alone and winning 122 seats, the BJP again contested for a much smaller number of seats in 2019 in alliance with the Shiv Sena and its seats fell to 105. Although the people gave the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance a majority, the Shiv Sena snubbed the BJP and opted for the Congress-NCP.
The second mistake of the BJP:
The BJP decided to form the government overnight trusting Ajit Pawar. Ajit Pawar claimed to have won a majority for the BJP by breaking the NCP, but within a few days he switched sides and again caught up with Sharad Pawar. The BJP faced huge embarrassment due to this. The government did not work, but Ajit Pawar’s corruption also tainted the BJP. BJP did not get either Maya or Ram.
The third mistake of the BJP:
Eknath Shinde broke away from Shiv Sena and joined the BJP, bringing majority to the BJP. The government was formed, but despite having more than 2.5 times more seats than the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), the BJP demoted two-time former CM Devendra Fadnavis and appointed him deputy CM. And Eknath Shinde, who would have been happy just being deputy CM, was gifted the CM chair. This broke the morale of BJP leaders and workers.
The fourth mistake of the BJP:
When the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) government was doing well, the BJP brought in Ajit Pawar again. This time he broke the NCP and gathered more than 3 dozen MLAs and became deputy CM. By joining hands with Ajit Pawar, the BJP’s fight against corruption weakened, which had an adverse effect on the morale of BJP workers. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the public completely rejected the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance, due to which the NDA seats decreased from 41 to 17.
The fifth mistake of the BJP:
Despite the crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP offered the post of state minister to the NCP (Ajit Pawar) faction. It was Praful Patel who refused to accept the post of state minister and rejected the ministerial post. Otherwise, the NCP, which won one seat, would have been part of the NDA government at the Center today.
Now Ajit Pawar is not able to spit it out or swallow it for the BJP. After three months Assembly elections will be held in Maharashtra and this time the road seems very difficult for the BJP. But the BJP cannot blame anyone for its situation, because it has made many mistakes one after another, so all the efforts have been in vain.
Tags: Ajit Pawar, BJP, Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde
PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME: June 21, 2024, 9:18 PM IST
