Seven Rallies In Three Days — What’s Behind BJP’s Modi Push In Maharashtra?

Once again, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned out to be the strongest pitch of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra for the ongoing general elections.

After the conclusion of his rally in Western Maharashtra’s Kolhapur on 28 April, the Prime Minister will be touring Maharashtra again to address six rallies in a row over two days April 29 and April 30. 

Apart from Pune which is set to go for polls later in phase four of the Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi’s rallies have been planned in a way to cover all key phase three Lok Sabha seats. 

The 28 April rally in Kolhapur that saw a large turnout was in favour of coalition partner Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s Kolhapur candidate Sanjay Mandlik and Hatkanangale candidate Dhairyasheel Mane, both sitting Members of Parliament.

On 29 April, the prime minister will be in Solapur, Karad and Pune. The next day, on 30 April, he will campaign in Malshiras, Osmanabad and Latur.

Behind BJP’s Modi push

Barring Baramati and Satara, the Mahayuti had won seven out of the nine Lok Sabha seats in 2019 where PM Modi's rallies have been planned over the three days.

However, with splits in the regional parties, defections of local heavy-weights and in-fighting within-in coalition in some of the constituencies, sources say BJP leaders have been looking up to PM Modi's rallies more than ever.

Assuage split tensions

Maharashtra politics has been in constant focus for the past two years owing to the split in two major regional parties — Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. 

After the Sena and the NCP split, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena along with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has been a part of the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti while the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP are with the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in opposition.

Experts say that the split between the two parties has disturbed several castes as well as political equations. Denial of seats to certain sitting MPs has also caused displeasure among constituents of both coalitions. Moreover, political observers say that there is also a sense of confusion among the voters as to which of the Sena and the NCP leaders are in which of the split factions. 

As Maharashtra sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the second highest number state-wise after Uttar Pradesh, the BJP is banking on PM Modi’s charisma and his appeal among the masses to unite bickering factions within the Mahayuti.

Boost to the cadre

Sources within the saffron party said that the state leadership had appealed to PM Modi personally to allot maximum slots for his overall general election campaign to Maharashtra. 

According to them, PM Modi’s rallies will help boost the party cadre’s morale and help tide over the lull that had set in post-Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s unexpected overture to the NCP and Congress post the 2019 state assembly elections.

This then pushed the BJP to the opposition benches despite having emerged as the single largest party in the assembly.

Moreover, the BJP needs to leave no stone unturned since the results of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections will set the tone for the upcoming state assembly elections and the municipal corporation polls after that.

Mahayuti's Hindutva versus MVA's caste politics

The renewal of the Maratha caste agitation under the leadership of Manoj Jarange, and consistent clamouring by the Congress and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi for a nationwide caste census has sharpened the social divisions in the otherwise progressive Maharashtra. Several constituencies in the state are witnessing intense polarisation on caste lines with OBCs pitted against Marathas and vice versa. 

With the Sharad Pawar-NCP portraying the ruling Mahayuti to be anti-Maratha, a division of the sizeable Maratha caste vote who supposedly account for 30-34 per cent of the state’s population can mean additional worry to the BJP. 

“Considering the appeal of PM Modi that cuts across caste lines, we are hoping that his rallies will prevent the division of votes on caste-lines as much as possible,” a functionary from BJP’s Yuva Morcha from Pune on condition of anonymity said.