Continuing its golden streak in the Maratha stronghold of Shiv Sena and NCP after winning more than 50% of the 2974[1] posts for which the elections were held on Sunday, BJP has once again asserted its position as the strongest player in Indian politics even at the grass-root level.
Breaking the perceived misconception and the media created propaganda, the BJP single-handedly demolished all of its opponents be it the Shiv Sena, NCP or the INC.
Although, legally all the candidates (who contested these elections) were independent ones, all of them claimed alliance with some or the other party. The Shiv Sena which tried its best to rake up the issue of scam tainted politician, Narayan Rane potentially joining BJP it failed miserably, being able to poll only a paltry 222 posts even behind the dying Congress party which managed to amass a grand total of 301 posts.
More than the Congress, it was the Shiv Sena which lost face having come third in its own bastion (self-proclaimed).
Uddhav Thackeray, who tried every dirty trick in the book to blame his allies for political gains[2], mocking the PM Modi of having lost the nerve of the people was shown the mirror by the people of Maharashtra, after the results were declared. Be it demonetization, GST or the implementation of rural development schemes, the citizens have seen the developmental agenda of the BJP over the yesteryear caste politics which the Shiv Sena and the likes depended on. With each passing year, the Modi wave only seems to be gaining momentum and force thereby demolishing its opponents left right and centre.
This win for the BJP comes at a very critical time keeping in mind the upcoming Gujarat elections, where the Congress is desperately trying to make a comeback and probably revive its dying fortunes. Knowing that the pulse of the nation lies with the rural populace, the BJP and their chanakya Mr. Amit Shah have proved it again that the policies implemented by the BJP governments (both at the state and the centre) have been successful in restoring the confidence of the people to vote them (their candidates) in power with a massive 122 seats in 2014 assembly elections and 851 seats in the municipal council elections in 2016. The panchayat elections were a litmus test which the BJP very comfortably cleared by showcasing that they have successfully replaced the INC as the party of the rich and the poor (alike), not by playing the roti-kapda-makaan politics but by increasing the bar to a lot more than only showing them aspirations limited to fulfilment of basic necessities.
The results also boast of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s popularity in the political circles (both in and out of BJP). The BJP leadership in the center headed by Amit Shah have systematically placed young and dynamic candidates towards the eastern and western borders, by having the likes of Pema Khandu (age 38) to be heading the north eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh and Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra. This enables for a healthy competition among its young ministers and to show their mettle to claim a bigger role on the national level, just like how Manohar Parrikar (ex-Def. Minister) and Kiren Rijiju (Union Minister) did, who through their good work were rewarded with bigger responsibilities of not only managing a state but ensuring the welfare of all 29 states and 7 union territories representing the 125 crore people.
Come Gujarat elections, the media and the opposition have started their dirty game by publishing half baked stories in order to malign the BJP and its leaders, but just like Maharashtra this is only going to help the BJP gain more mileage since the shelf life of any of their propaganda stories is about 10-15 hours beyond which credible counters backed by facts are thrown at these funded media houses along with Rs. 100 Crore defamation suits. Be it the fake stories of dalits being attacked for sporting moustaches or the distorted articles on Jay Amit Shah’s company making a 16,000% profit in one year, and the dozen other propaganda stories that are going to follow in the run of Gujarat elections, the BJP will reclaim Gujarat and achieve another feat, just the same way it did in Maharashtra.
[1] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bjpshines-at-gram-panchayat-polls/articleshow/61016805.cms
[2] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/uddhav-thackeray-takes-dig-at-pm-modi-over-gujarat-visit/articleshow/61000624.cms