BJP remains numero uno, NCP expands its wings

The results of the 105 city councils and two zilla parishads has maintained the BJPrsquos number one position despite being in the opposition benches The forthcoming local bodies elections in which the urban as well as rural population votes should be able to measure the strength that the statersquos single largest party in the Assembly holds in the ballotThis will further project the future trend for the BJP and three other prime playersmdashthe Nationalist Congress Party the Congress and the Shiv Sena in the recently concluded polls the NCP followed the BJP at the second spot by scoring more than the Congress and Sena who finished at third and fourth place respectively The MVA partners did not contest the polls together making it a fourway fight in most places The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena did not reach even a doubledigit figureThe results show the Sena trailing much behind the BJP its ally in the Assembly polls of 2019 who together won a majority to form the government but parted ways in the most unusual circumstances The threeparty government came to power with all partners vying for widening their base that the BJP had dented in the past five yearsWinning as much in the local body government elections is considered a step forward in getting approval from the voters who also decide the governments in the state The NCP the Senarsquos partner in the present government has done what is expected of the ruling party by doubling the number of councils it heads The third MVA partner the Congress is not far behind the NCP the party it has been rivalling even when together and otherwise Since consistency and the Congress hardly go together one cannot guarantee its success in the next round of local body pollsThe Sena can be expected to use an opportunity to plug a huge gap between itself and the BJP ultimately the MVA partners in the next round of elections that will have the two parties fighting very close in Mumbai Thane Navi Mumbai and other cities in the MMR and rest of Maharashtra especially Aurangabad and Nashik The NCP is preparing to oust the BJP from the Pune Metropolitan Region area Vidarbharsquos certain pockets gave the Congress an upstick against the BJP in the recently concluded polls but it did not suffice to put up an allout fight against the BJPThe Congress has an onerous task of fighting its guts out to defeat the BJP in the municipal body of Nagpur where the millennials have to be told that the national party ruled the city for decades in the 20th centuryUnder a compulsion forced by the local leaders who have been successful in telling their respective leaderships that sharing of seats in small elections endanger the very existence of the parties at the ground level the MVA partners will again be fighting independent of each other in the next big phase of local bodies The results should help the MVA partners fathom their individual might in their influence and noninfluence areas It will also give the BJP now pledged to fight solo come what may a muchneeded data to plan its mega mission of forming the government on its own in 2024 assuming that the MVA will not fall on its own or be made to fall necessitating a midterm poll As of now the approach is to go out there on a solo mission and return with the results to stitch up a postpoll arrangement with a sole purpose to keep the BJP out of power wherever possibleThe BJP will enjoy the power where it has a comfortable majority but will be under pressure to prevent defections The MVAlike formations will be attempted wherever possible The independents will rip the benefits by switching over to the MVA parties In fact the MVAlike formations in the local bodies arenrsquot a novelty making one believe that the 2019 experiment was just an extension of the idea not to forget a successful one executed by Sharad Pawar in his first tenure as the CM of Maharashtra The only difference is that the BJP then Jan Sangh shared power with a Congress splinter headed by PawarSo in the present context where does the BJP stand in Maharashtra Shaken in 2019 and stirred every now and then thereafter it derives the happiness in being the single largest party and vows to hold the position in the years to come in all future elections But will that suffice for claiming power in the state government where undisputed numbers are neededThe next phase of local bodies and the Assembly elections will make the votersrsquo preference even more clear and throw up a combination of parties from among the MVA that we may see fighting in alliance With the BJP maintaining that it will fight alone to win a majority in the Assembly the NCP emerges as an openended unit which can go either with the Sena or the Congress or the BJP depending on the equations it develops with the partners in the times to come In all circumstances in the future the NCP will be a party to be watched keenly for its ambitious run driven not only by the supreme leadership but also by the heavyweights in its rankDharmendra Jore is political editor midday He tweets dharmendrajoreSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom