India: Politics rules as BJP commits hara kiri and Shiv Sena alliance wins

A high drama took place in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Despite the election results having been declared almost a month back, uncertainty has dogged the state. The BJP had a pre-poll alliance with the Shiv Sena, and the coalition won an absolute majority. The Shivsena wanted a bigger share of the pie as well as the Chief Minister's chair. The BJP did not take the demand seriously, resulting in the Shiv Sena drifting towards the NCP and the Congress party, who was in the minority.

The Times of india has reported that the three parties will now elect their leader.

The governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, waited for almost a month for a representative government to be formed. When none of the parties could form a government, he recommended the imposition of president's rule.

Midnight drama

A midnight drama was played out two days back. The BJP was able to entice the NCP leader Ajit Pawar to defect with his supporters. He was made the Deputy Chief Minister. It was a midnight coup and took the other parties completely by surprise. They approached the Supreme Court, which, a few days back, had given a judgment on the Ram Mandir case, ordered a floor test on 27th November.

A game of nerves began, led by the old leader Sharad Pawar. Ajit Pawar developed cold feet and resigned before the no-trust vote. The BJP Chief Minister had no option but to resign as he had lost the majority.

The field is now clear for the alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress to form a government. For the BJP, this is a huge setback. But if one looks at the scenario, one can see the BJP has only itself to blame.

Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena is known as a party of lumpen elements, and in the past, it has attacked South Indians and people from Bihar who reside in Mumbai. The party, which is headed by Uddhav Thackeray, has time and again poured scorn on the BJP and its leader Narendra Modi. Despite this, the BJP still decided to ally with the Shiv Sena for reasons best known only to PM Modi.

In the 2014 election, the BJP and Shiv Sena had fought the state election separately, and the BJP had won 124 seats to 64 of Shiv Sena in a house of 288.

At that time, the BJP was offered support by the NCP. This support was contemptuously spurned by the BJP, which once again allied itself with the Shiv Sena. This was a surprise, and in a way, the BJP cut its legs by allying with a party that was not only unreliable but was also pouring scorn on the BJP leadership.

Modi's blunder

Narendra Modi and Shah also committed the blunder of foisting a political lightweight Devandra Fadnavis as chief minister of Maharashtra, ignoring the claim of a powerful leader like Nitin Gadkari. Fadnavis did not have the charisma or the elan to oppose the Shiv Sena.

The inevitable happened, and now the BJP will have to sit in the opposition. The Shiv Sena has cobbled an alliance with the NCP and Congress. It will, as part of the bargain, get the chief minister's post. The Shiv Sena has changed its colors like a chameleon, and it's pro-Hindu policies have been dumped by joining the Congress Party and NCP for the sake of power. India Today has reported that Uddhav Thackeray has stated that the Shiv Sena will form a stable government with its new allies.

Future

The BJP is now at the crossroads, and it has lost three of the biggest states in India to the opposition parties. This is mainly because of the concentration of power in the hands of Modi and Shah and there attempt to foist political lightweight leaders on the states. They also miss-read the intentions of Shiv Sena in a desperate bid to retain power. The party is now in the wilderness on its own doing.