Why coalition politics is here to stay in Maharashtra

While the BJP contested the highest fig of seats, 148, it volition person to heavy beryllium connected its partners, the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, to cobble unneurotic the numbers. Similarly, the Congress, which has contested 101 seats, volition besides person to trust connected the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (SP) to scope the magic people if it gets a sizable vote.

The precocious elector turnout – the authorities recorded a polling percent of 66.05 per cent, its highest since 1995 – has fixed assurance to some sides that the mandate volition much oregon little beryllium decisive. And some the ruling and Opposition confederation person maintained that the surge successful voters volition enactment successful their favour. While Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the voting trends were a motion that a “pro-incumbency factor” was astatine work, authorities Congress main Nana Patole maintained that the enactment sees a “public mandate for the MVA”.

Meanwhile, up of D-Day, each large parties are holding a bid of meetings and reaching retired to their candidates, the rebels, smaller parties and Independents who enactment connected a bully fight.

While elder Congress person Balasaheb Thorat met NCP (SP) main Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, the Shiv Sena (UBT) main besides addressed his enactment bureau bearers and candidates cautioning them astir the precautions that person to beryllium taken during counting. Similar discussions were held wrong the BJP too.

“If the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) wins a bully fig of seats, we volition articulation the process of authorities formation. We volition enactment the parties that volition signifier the government,” VBA president Prakash Ambedkar said. The VBA had contested the elections alone, maintaining a region from the Congress-NCP arsenic good arsenic the Shiv Sena-BJP.

“Maharashtra is simply a analyzable authorities with stronger determination parties which person the nationalist mandate. So, authorities nary longer revolves astir pan-Indian Congress and BJP. Regional parties are a unit to reckon with and without their support, governments cannot beryllium formed,” Ambedkar said.

From 1960 to 2024

After the enactment of Maharashtra connected May 1, 1960, the archetypal Assembly elections were held successful 1962. The Congress past got a mammoth mandate of 215 seats. In the consequent elections held successful 1967, the Congress won 203 seats.

In 1978 polls, determination was a divided successful the Congress, and the mandate was fractured with the Congress bagging 69 seats, the Indian National Congress (I) 62, and the Janata Party 99. Sharad Pawar had past walked retired of the Congress authorities led by main curate Vasantdada Patil to signifier the Indian National Congress (Socialist) with 40 rebels. They formed the Progressive Democratic Front authorities with the assistance of the Janata Party and the Peasant and Workers Party of India. At 38, Pawar became the youngest main curate of the country. But the authorities was dismissed successful 1980. The mid-term polls saw the Congress regaining a mandate of 186 seats and its faction INC (U) securing 47 seats. The INC (U) aboriginal merged with the main party.

On April 6, 1980, the BJP emerged arsenic a governmental helping of the Jana Sangh. Though successful beingness since January 19, 1966, the Shiv Sena had restricted itself to section bodies politics. After 1989, it allied with the BJP and started contesting some Lok Sabha arsenic good arsenic Assembly polls.

The Congress’s dominance successful Maharashtra authorities continued from 1962 to 1990. In the 1990 Assembly elections, the enactment won 141 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena with 52 and the BJP with 42 seats.

The state’s governmental matrix changed successful 1995 with the Shiv Sena (73 seats) and BJP (65 seats), on with 40 rebels, coming to powerfulness for the archetypal time. Shiv Sena person Manohar Joshi became the main curate and BJP’s Gopinath Munde, the lawman main minister. Reduced to 80 seats, the Congress was voted retired of power.

Five years later, aft Pawar parted ways with the Congress to signifier the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) connected June 10, 1999, determination were 2 progressive governmental fronts successful the state: the Congress-NCP versus the Shiv Sena-BJP.

From 1999 to 2019, Maharashtra saw uninterrupted conjugation governments. The Congress-NCP ruled the authorities betwixt 1999 to 2009 with the Shiv Sena-BJP successful the Opposition.

In the 2014 Assembly polls, BJP emerged arsenic the azygous largest enactment by winning 122 seats. It formed a authorities with the assistance of the Shiv Sena which won 63 seats and the BJP got its archetypal Maharashtra main curate successful Devendra Fadnavis. The saffron conjugation completed a afloat five-year term.

After the 2019 Assembly polls, Thackeray broke distant from the BJP to articulation the Congress-NCP confederation and signifier a three-party conjugation which helium headed arsenic the main minister.

Operation Lotus, wherever the BJP brokered a divided successful the Shiv Sena, followed. In June 2022, the BJP and the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde formed a authorities by dislodging the MVA. A twelvemonth later, successful July 2023, the NCP divided into 2 factions aft Ajit Pawar broke distant from his uncle and joined the Mahayuti.

With the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi entrenched successful their respective roles, a single-party authorities seems a distant world successful Maharashtra.