THE BURDEN OF VICTORY

POLL BATTLE WON DECISIVELY, THE ALLIANCE NOW HAS TO MANAGE COMPETING AMBITIONS, FINANCES AND DISCONTENTED SECTIONS

- DHAVAL S. KULKARNI

MAHAYUTI

It was to be the mother of all battles between the ruling Mahayuti and power aspirants Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Coming after the Lok Sabha election in May, where the MVA swept 31 out of Maharashtra's 48 seats, the Opposition alliance was perceived to have an edge in what was widely expected to be a photo-finish.

In the end, it was the constituents of the Mahayuti-the BJP, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-that walked away with the prize. Together, they secured a landslide 230 out of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, the BJP winning 132 out of the 148 seats it contested, the Shiv Sena 57 out of 81, and the NCP 41 out of 59. The MVA was left licking its wounds with just 50 seats, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) winning a mere 20 out of 95 seats, the Congress 16 out of 101 seats, the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) 10 out of 86, and the smaller parties four. Veterans like former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat, and former ministers Yashomati Thakur of the Congress and Rajesh Tope of the NCP(SCP) bit the dust. The most decisive mandate in the history of the state has meant that, for the first time, the assembly may not have a leader of the opposition. No non-Mahayuti party has been able to get 10 per cent of the bench strength or 29 seats in the House.