Mahayuti's Rise Above Anti-Incumbency: The Factors Led To Sweeping Victory In Maharashtra (image: x.com/Dev_Fadnavis/)
Mahayuti’s sweeping victory in Maharashtra with 233 seats reflect that a government can rise above anti-incumbency. It also shows the BJP’s ability to “course-correct” quickly after the Lok Sabha setback and return with a stable government. Meanwhile, failing to put forth an impressing narrative, the INDIA bloc’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a severe setback and Congress, recorded one of the worst performances in electoral history.
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Some of the factors resulted in Mahayuti’s landslide victory are:
Ladki Bahin Scheme and Welfare Measures
The slew of welfare measures especially flagship Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana implemented by the Shinde government after the Lok Sabha poll debacle played a crucial role in their comeback. Launched in August this year, through this celebrated scheme Rs. 1,500 per month is being given to 2.3 crore women aged 21 to 65 across the State. Since the State possess 4.6 crore total women population, money has directly reached to half of the women electorates. As this election marked a sharp rise in voter turnout assisting Mahayuti victory comes from women electorates, the ‘silent vote bank’. The scheme has been a game-changer because women beneficiaries, especially rural women were able to forget agricultural distress, since financial aid came to their hand through Ladki Bahin scheme. The BJP realised how a women’s welfare scheme worked magnificently in election through the Ladli Behna Scheme in Madhya Pradesh last year. Other welfare measures facilitated Mahayuti’s success were waiver of famers electricity bills, and Rs.2500 crore in Minimum Support Price (MSP) subsidies to soybean and cotton farmers.
Ek Hain To Safe Hai Campaign
The current polls witnessed how openly communal charged campaigns emerged forefront in Maharashtra and gained acceptability. Prime Minister Modi’s “Ek Hain To Safe Hai” (together we are safe) and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “Batenge To Katenge” (divided we perish), the two contentious slogans along with popularising the term “Vote Jehad,” referring to the Muslim bloc voting resulted in uniting BJP supporters and their vote bank. The campaigns also urged for a Hindu unity devoid of SC, ST and OBC division, and not to fall for the Opposition’s caste census pretensions. The election results reflect how Mahayuti’s Hindu unity pitch won over Maratha-OBC crisis in the state, and MVA’s call for caste census and protection of the constitution is taking backseat.
Disciplined Campaign and RSS’S Proactive Role
The clarity in the election narrative and disciplined campaign was visible on Mahayuti throughout. Political analysts speak about smart alliance management and well-defined campaign formulations by the ruling front. The BJP election winning quotients, participation of state leaders, institutional mechanisms at play, and well-functioning organisational machinery is also evident in Maharashtra. The Mahayuti does not allow any voice of dissonance or contradictory statements from leaders to topple their strategic campaigns. The most important factor ascertained victory is the RSS’s proactive role in the electioneering. The silent yet powerful grass root level campaign led by RSS along with organisations under its helm has reached the length and breadth of the constituencies, and effectively communicated the ruling alliance’s message to the electorates, particularly about welfare schemes.
State Leadership and Local Issues
Maharashtra election campaigns has also witnessed the BJP’s tactical transition from projecting PM Modi to advocating state leaders and focusing on local issues. The welfare schemes created a feeling among voters that their grievances has been heard and a reassurance has been received. The ruling alliance’s campaigns also spread the message that if the opposition come to power, they will stop the beneficiary schemes. Though MVA criticised the Mahayuti over the financial burden that welfare schemes could bring to the state, in the end they just aped the their schemes and topped it. The MVA took up farmers distress as an election issue quite late. Similarly, they failed to propose any impressive schemes in their election manifesto, in which first-movers advantage also worked for the Mahayuti.
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Caste Consolidation
The wrath of Marathas following the Maratha reservation demand was a huge factor in Mahayuti’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha election. Realising the Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Pati’s ‘anti-BJP’ stance, and Maratha-OBC conflict in the state, the BJP strategically planned for a counter-mobilisation of non-Maratha Hindu vote bank. The party deployed its old tried-and-tested MADHAVA formula, for the consolidation of OBC vote bank. The Marathi acronym MADHAV stands for Mali (gardener), Dhangar (shepherd), and Vanjari (a nomadic or semi-nomadic group from Marathwada). The three castes fall under three major OBC communities in the state constitute sizeable populations. Through this social engineering formula, the saffron party successfully resisted Maratha community backlash, and influenced the electoral outcome in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.
