The political campaigns for the Maharashtra assembly elections began with promises of public welfare and development. As the campaigns heated up, slogans like 'Divide and perish', 'Vote Jihad', 'Religious war', and 'Constitution in danger' took center stage. Campaigns conclude on the evening of November 18. NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray have crafted an emotional appeal to voters, citing the 'betrayal' by Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde.
The Mahayuti government, led by CM Shinde’s Shiv Sena, BJP, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, is promoting the Ladki Behna Yojana ahead of the November 20 voting. Notably, Uddhav Thackeray's MVA government sustained for two and a half years before being toppled in June 2022 when 40 Shiv Sena MLAs, under Eknath Shinde, rebelled. Last year, following similar footsteps, Ajit Pawar rebelled with nearly 45 NCP MLAs against Sharad Pawar, becoming Deputy CM in the Mahayuti government.
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The election commission has certified the factions led by Shinde and Ajit Pawar as the 'genuine' Shiv Sena and NCP, respectively. Campaigns by NCP(SP) and Shiv Sena(UBT) were dominated by accusations of betrayal involving Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar urged voters to beware of 'traitors' and defeat them in the elections. Sharad Pawar, aged 84, is on an aggressive tour across the state, addressing rallies in strongholds of former close allies Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse-Patil.
Senior Pawar is slated to address a rally in his native village Baramati on Monday, where Ajit Pawar faces competition from his nephew, NCP(SP)’s Yugendra Pawar. From Dadar in Mumbai, staunch BJP supporter Vinod Salunkhe remarked, 'Incorporating Ajit Pawar into the government is a betrayal of the core values the party upholds. It was the BJP that labeled Ajit Pawar corrupt and campaigned against him.'
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Nonetheless, Salunkhe claimed there weren’t many alternatives other than supporting BJP. Salunkhe, a senior corporate officer, stated, 'My choices are limited to either staying home or supporting BJP.' Post the Lok Sabha losses, the Mahayuti government led by Eknath Shinde, rolled out several welfare initiatives, including the Ladki Behna Yojana, offering women a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500. Over 2.3 crore women benefited, receiving up to Rs 7,500 over five months.
Launched in July, CM Eknath Shinde assured the November installment was paid anticipating the announcement of election schedules and the coming of the model code of conduct. Despite the emphasis on welfare schemes and development, divisive issues like 'Divide and perish', 'Safety in unity', 'Vote Jihad', and 'Religious war' overshadowed the campaign. BJP leaders like Pankaja Munde, Ashok Chavan, and ally Ajit Pawar expressed disagreement with 'Divide and perish' slogans.
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Devendra Fadnavis contended that those leaders opposing 'Divide and perish' missed understanding the core message of unity the slogan intended. He claimed foreign invaders dominated the nation whenever segmented on caste lines. Recently, Fadnavis stated—PM Narendra Modi encapsulated it as 'Safety in unity'. These slogans called for unity. Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, opting out of the electoral field, also tours parts of the state, urging voters to oust those against community reservation.
Amid campaign noise, crucial topics like job creation, FDI, farmer migration, healthcare, and education slid into the background. Deep agricultural crises, falling soybean and cotton prices, and absent agri-laborers remain major issues in Maharashtra’s rural regions yet almost absent from political discussions. Deepak Jagtap, an RTI activist from Manmad, Nashik said, 'The onion export ban troubled BJP in Lok Sabha elections; soybean and cotton prices could be troubling issues for the ruling party in the assembly elections.'
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The Ladki Behna initiative could be a game-changer for the ruling coalition, providing financial support to women across all sections. Both the Mahayuti and the MVA alliances launched senior leaders nationwide into Maharashtra’s election campaign. PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, and former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot were involved in campaigning. The 288-member Maharashtra Assembly election, set for November 20, will see 9.7 crore eligible voters turn out.
