Mahayuti and MVA gear up for Maharashtra Assembly elections

As the state gears up for Maharashtra assembly elections the political landscape is heating up with alliances and strategies taking center stage Two major coalitions the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA are preparing to battle it out for control of the statersquos legislative assemblyThe Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA is looking to put up a tough fight after the alliance gained a decisive edge over the ruling Mahayuti in the Lok Sabha elections by winning 30 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra And now the two principal alliances are gearing up for another faceoff in the Maharashtra assembly electionsBut before the Maharashtra assembly elections the Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA faced each other in a tumultuous Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Legislature which began onJune 27 Being the last session of the present state Assembly before the forthcoming elections slated for SeptemberOctober the Mahayuti which is yet to recover from the setback in the justconcluded Lok Sabha elections listed out its achievements in the last twoandahalf years while proposing a blueprint for the future On the other hand buoyed by its performance in the General Elections the MVA is in a combative mood to take on the Mahayuti government on a range of issuesMahayuti The grand allianceThe Mahayuti led by the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP is a coalition that includes key allies like the Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde faction Nationalist Congress Party Ajit Pawar faction and several smaller parties This alliance aims to consolidate the proHindutva vote and leverage its organisational strength and resourcesMaha Vikas Aghadi The united oppositionThe Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA comprises the Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction the Nationalist Congress Party ndash Sharadchandra Pawar Sharad Pawar faction and the Congress Formed after the 2019 elections the MVA came together to prevent the BJP from forming the government leading to a unique coalition of ideologically diverse partiesWhat do leaders from both alliances have to sayMaharashtra has 288 legislative assembly constituencies making it a critical battleground for both Mahayuti and Maha Vikas AghadiThe Lok Sabha election results in Maharashtra came as a shock to many political pundits The Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA bagged 30 of the 48 seats while the Mahayuti tally was just 17 compared with 41 in 2019 when the BJP was in alliance with an undivided Shiv SenaIn the 288member Assembly leading in 157 seats may seemingly put the MVA in a comfortable position but Assembly elections are a different ball game Hence all the key players are redrawing their strategies making Maharashtra politics even more intriguing and now highly unpredictableShiv Sena Secretary and Spokesperson Kiran Pawaskar said We are currently working on finalising a plan for the Maharashtra assembly elections We recently held meetings with our youth and women wings We have asked our MPs and MLAs to begin preparations for the state assembly electionsHe further stated that the party Shiv Sena is also reflecting on the Lok Sabha election results We are introspecting the Lok Sabha election results and based on that we will come up with a strong plan for the Maharashtra assembly elections However one shouldnt forget that the Lok Sabha elections and the Maharashtra assembly elections are different So the bottom line is we are currently working on a strong plan for the Maharashtra assembly elections keeping in mind the Lok Sabha election resultsrdquo Pawaskar addedOn the other hand a few days back the BJP said that it would maintain a status quo on its leadership in Maharashtra in the wake of the upcoming assembly elections in the state The BJP further asserted that it is working on a blueprint for the Shiv SenaBJPNCP coalition to win in the assembly polls due later this year The decision was taken at Maharashtra BJPs core group meeting In this meeting Mahayutis abysmal performance in the Lok Sabha elections and strategy to win the assembly polls were discussedNiranjan Shetty chief spokesperson for BJP Mumbai said ldquoCurrently we are introspecting on the Lok Sabha election debacle We are examining whether we were able to reach out to the masses effectively We are also internally speaking to the district heads We have prepared a team within the party to meet with party workers interact with them and understand their preferences from the choice of candidates to the partyrsquos functioning If any changes are needed whether organisational or ministerial we are addressing them through this introspectionrdquoWe are also introspecting whether we were able to fulfill the expectations of the people or if there are more expectations than what we have met The party also held a meeting a few days back in which this internal introspection was discussed including exactly where we may have missed out and whether we were not able to deliver as per the expectations of the peoplerdquo he saidOur party workers are ready 365 days a year The BJP works around the clock 247 Shetty saidMeanwhile Congress and the MVA are maintaining the momentum from the Lok Sabha electionsMaharashtra Congress chief spokesperson Atul Londhe said The momentum from the Lok Sabha elections hasnt stopped yet We havent stopped working since then We have also instructed our party workers to work hard for the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections Our party has started training the party workers with the state assembly elections in mind We have also instructed our party workers to address local issues and work on them We emphasised not breaking the momentum from the Lok Sabha electionsSpeaking about MVAs seat sharing Londhe said The talks are ongoing The seatsharing discussions will consider the Lok Sabha election results He further mentioned that all three alliance partners will contest the Maharashtra assembly elections together The MVA alliance is strong and will take on the BJP and its allies headon he addedWhat experts have to sayExperts feel that both alliances face significant challenges For the MVA countering antiincumbency sentiments will be critical And for Mahayuti countering the recent Lok Sabha elections debacle will be a critical challenge Managing coalition partners and ensuring a cohesive campaign strategy will be essential for both sides Internal discord could be detrimentalPolitical analyst Abhay Deshpande said ldquoThe first challenge both Mahayuti and MVA alliances will face is seat distribution This will be a major hurdle for both alliances postLok Sabha election results Their complex composition and diverse political goals are likely to pose challenges to the partners of the ruling Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi during the sharing of seats ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections Now you have two Shiv Senas and two NCPs Things have changed drastically There will be a lot of give and takerdquoWhile speaking about Mahayutirsquos challenges Deshpande said ldquoBoth the Maratha and OBC communities are not happy This is going to be a big task for the Mahayuti alliance They will also have to look after party workers as their morale will be down post Lok Sabha polls debaclerdquoWhile MVA will have to face significant challenges in maintaining their Lok Sabha election momentum ldquoMVA which highlighted issues like CAA NRC etc during the Lok Sabha elections may not find them as relevant for the state assembly elections They will need to focus on local and statespecific issues With the ruling alliance offering many freebies ahead of the state assembly elections MVA will need to work hard to sustain the momentum from the Lok Sabha elections The recent results have boosted morale within MVA demonstrating that this alliance can strongly contest against the BJP This alliance is a potent combination Therefore the main challenge for MVA is to sustain the momentum from the Lok Sabha electionsrdquo Deshpande saidThe political landscape in the state is set for an intense contest between the Mahayuti and the MVA in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections With both the Mahayuti and the MVA deploying strategic plans to win over voters the Maharashtra assembly elections promise to be a significant indicator of the statersquos political future The outcome will not only shape Maharashtrarsquos governance for the next five years but also influence the broader national political scenario