Maharashtra polls: Rebels, discordant allies pose twin troubles for NDA

With less than a week to go for the campaign to end and polling to take place in Maharashtra, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is facing two major challenges from within its fold.

The first is from the rebel candidates of the NDA who have decided to contest the Maharashtra polls against the wishes of their party leadership. The largest number of rebellions are taking place in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has recently suspended more than 40 rebel candidates and workers for anti-party activities during the elections.

The case is no different in the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. More than a dozen rebel candidates of Shiv Sena and NCP have decided to contest against the official NDA candidates.

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Battle for tickets

The problem has become so severe in the NDA that Shinde personally spoke to the BJP leadership and demanded action against the rebel candidates. Although the BJP leadership is confident that the rebels will not be able to damage the NDA candidates’ prospects, the division of votes by the rebel candidates could become crucial in a close contest.

If the Lok Sabha elections are taken as a starting point of the electoral battle between the NDA and the INDIA bloc, the NDA managed to lead in 137 Assembly segments while the INDIA bloc led in 151 segments.

“This is for the first time that six political parties are contesting the elections in Maharashtra. Since the BJP is the largest party in the state and it is contesting most seats, it is obvious that there are more aspirants too. For the BJP alone, every seat has at least three to four probable candidates. But the ticket can be given to only one person, so some chose to contest as rebels. Action is being taken wherever it is necessary, and senior party leaders are trying to convince these rebels to not campaign against the BJP and the NDA,” a senior BJP leader based in Mumbai told The Federal.

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Ajit Pawar’s divergent stand

Even as the BJP takes action to put its house in order before polling, it faces a second challenge from an NDA partner who has openly criticised its campaign strategies.

While opposition parties have been panning the BJP over its campaign slogan of Batenge to Katenge (divided we fall) and Ek Rahenge, Safe Rahenge (Stay United, Stay Safe), the most vocal criticism has come from within the NDA itself. Ajit Pawar believes that these slogans are not meant for Maharashtra and are being brought by “outsiders”.

“The party leadership is absolutely clear about its stand on these issues and has always made it clear. It will not be fair for me to comment since our leader Ajit Pawar has already spoken about it. I am sure that he has raised these issues at the highest level within the party and also NDA,” Nitin Jadhav Patil, senior NCP leader and MP, told The Federal.

Shinde takes conflicting stance too

This is not the first time Ajit Pawar has spoken against the BJP’s campaign strategy. Soon after the Lok Sabha polls, the other Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the leader of the BJP in Maharashtra, blamed “vote jihad” for the NDA’s below-par performance in the Lok Sabha polls, in which the INDIA bloc won 30 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra while the NDA could win only 17.

While the BJP was busy complaining about “vote jihad”, Ajit Pawar announced that his party would give at least 10 per cent seats to Muslim candidates. After the seat distribution process in the NDA for the state polls was completed, the NCP gave five tickets to Muslim candidates from its share of 53. Interestingly, Pawar is also in favour of giving reservation to Muslims in educational institutions and jobs whereas the BJP’s views are diametrically opposite.

Pawar is not the only NDA leader in Maharashtra to have divergent views with the BJP. Chief Minister Shinde has allocated Rs 10 lakh to each madrasa in the state under the government’s Dr Zakir Hussain Madrasa Modernisation programme.

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Lack of coordination?

Political analysts believe that both challenges point to a lack of coordination within the NDA.

“There is a fragmentation of politics in Maharashtra and it is visible within the NDA also. The rebels have become a cause for concern for the BJP. Ajit Pawar has also expressed his individuality as a leader and his disagreements with the BJP are visible,” Amit Dholakia, political science professor at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, told The Federal.

“There is also confusion within the NDA about who will be the next chief minister if it wins the election. All these factors will create further problems on the ground and there will be a lack of coordination among the workers of the three political parties,” he added.