Maharashtra: Karnataka win gives hope to Congress and its allies

Congress workers celebrate the Karnataka assembly election results at the party’s Mumbai office in Azad Maidan. Pic/Atul Kamble

The Karnataka victory has given the Congress and its allies a great hope in Maharashtra, which will have Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls next year. The Congress on Saturday said that the politics that happened in Karnataka was also repeated in Maharashtra, making it conducive for an anti-BJP perception.

In addition, the Congress attributed its success to Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra. The party expects the Yatra to have a similar impact in Maharashtra, especially its traditional stronghold of Vidarbha, where it managed to recover some Assembly seats in 2019, but was way short of its past performance.

"Rahulji walked over 3,500 kilometres to understand the pain and suffering of the people. He represented the people in the Parliament, but he was disqualified and also rendered homeless. The people have endorsed his leadership," said State Congress president Nana Patole.

Hailing the Congress victory, former CM Prithviraj Chavan said the BJP was unlikely to sit idle after a crushing defeat and continue with the efforts it had attempted in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. He said just like in Karnataka, horse trading, misuse of law-enforcement agencies and other measures were used to topple the (MVA) government in Maharashtra.

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"Evidence may not be available, but it was said that a huge amount of money was used to buy MLAs in Karnataka and that this money was recovered through rampant corruption; they were accused of charging 40 per cent commission for passing the bills," he said. In the Sena (UBT) camp, Uddhav Thackeray welcomed the verdict as the beginning of the end of the Modi-Shah dictatorship.

"Karnataka has gone, we will send the BJP packing from Maharashtra as well," he stated in a meeting with the party MLAs on Saturday. Thackeray has asked his MLAs to tell the people that the Supreme Court verdict was in their party's favour and that although it has been allowed to stay on technical grounds, the Shinde government is unconstitutional and must be overthrown in the next elections.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar congratulated the Congress, one of his rival parties in Karnataka. He said the NCP had contested some seats to test its base in a new state. "We expected good returns in Nipani. Our primary goal was to defeat the BJP. A new method of using the wealth and government system is being used, and the people of Karnataka have shown that they don't like it," he said.

No impact, will return in Delhi & Maha next year: Fadnavis

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis mocked the opposition leaders in Maharashtra as "begani shaadi mein Abdullah deewana" (people celebrating others' victory).

Denying a possibility of Karnataka impact, he said Narendra Modi will return as the PM, and in Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena will form the government again.

CM Eknath Shinde endorsed this, adding that he saw no fear for his government because the people were in support and would return them next year.

Fadnavis, who had campaigned in Karnataka, said that the BJP not succeeding was expected. "Barring a few exceptions, no government had been re-elected in Karnataka since 1985. The state has changed power at regular intervals," he said.