There was not ever a sliver of doubt about how the BJP views its Lok Sabha campaign in Maharashtra. With a ‘400 paar’ target for the NDA, these 48 seats—next only to Uttar Pradesh’s 80—are a vital hunting ground. That the BJP was approaching its target of 40 Lok Sabha seats from Maharashtra in a brutally clinical manner became increasingly apparent as the second phase of polling concluded.
High-profile crossings of the aisle—former Union minister Milind Deora, former chief minister Ashok Chavan among them—have now been matched by unsentimental exclusions from the candidates list.
The BJP’s laboratory of experiments, which tests the limits of democratic systems, has returned to the hustings. One early conclusion: for the BJP, frustratingly, the Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde factions’ messaging is out-of-sync with the BJP’s thrust to return Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third term. They spend precious campaign minutes on tales of betrayal and family sagas, a dissonance appearing almost geared towards state assembly elections later in the year.
As the battle hots up, THE WEEK takes a close look at five crucial constituencies in the state:
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Maratha vote is key
In January, a month before he took his life, Manikrao Anant Godse, 38, was on the outskirts of Mumbai, braving the heat and dust of a two lakh-strong protest. Along with Sainath More—his neighbour from their village Babhulgaon Budruk in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s Sillod block—he camped outdoors through the five-day journey and shouted slogans demanding reservations for Marathas in higher education and jobs.
この記事は THE WEEK India の May 19, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は THE WEEK India の May 19, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
War Over Wounded Earth
For the BJP andthe Congress, the ravaged farmlands of Vidarbha represent a cxitieal battleground in their larger struggle to win Maharashtra
Say no to continual elections
Following the recommendations of a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind to streamline the widely scattered schedule of national, state and local elections, the Union cabinet has reportedly approved two constitutional amendment bills for likely introduction in Parliament. Predictably, the return of the ‘one nation, one election’ issue to news has set off a flurry of objections by several opposition leaders.
Fabulously, fashionably funny
The third season of the Karan Johar-produced Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives dropped on Netflix, but articles criticising the show appear in some news site or the other almost daily. If it is so bad, why keep writing about it? And if it is so bad, why would the superpowers at Netflix, who are harder to meet than the prime minister, commission the show season after season?
All in the family
The Chitaras have been passing down the secret art of Mata Ni Pachedi through generations for more than 400 years now
Raise a toast to Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan is a New Year baby. At 45, she is aglow in the most beautiful way, having won the hearts and admiration of countless fans across the world, who watched the supremely talented actor take a public tumble on stage at a high-profile promotional event recently, sharing the platform with no less a dancer than the eternally graceful Madhuri Dixit.
Death no bar
Being alive is not a legal requirement to be elected president of the United States
The Lotus POTUS
You should visit us one of these days— there is so much excitement in our USA! No, I don’t mean the famous USA—the Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association of Mumbai.
RAY OF HOPE
Actor and cancer survivor Lisa Ray talks to oncologist Dr Jame Abraham about inner strength and her surrogacy journey
LEVERAGE AI TO ENHANCE WORK
AT THE WEEK Health Summit, Siddharth Bagga, head (retail, CPG and health care), Google Cloud, elaborated on the significant work that Google has been doing in health care through artificial intelligence (AI).
PRESSURE POINTS
Author and MP Shashi Tharoor and motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das on how to find healing and meaning in today's world