Mumbai: Results from India’s recent elections have jolted the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra and it now appears that the ruling coalition’s humiliation may extend to even state ministers’ assembly constituencies.
Maharashtra votes in elections for its 288-seat state assembly in October this year and numbers from the Lok Sabha poll appear to show that many voters have turned to the BJP and Shiv Sena.
From holding 25 out of 48 seats in the 2009 elections to being reduced to just six for the Congress and NCP, the ominous news is that the ruling alliance trailed in 111 out of 144 assembly segments that it holds.
Even in the strong constituencies held by ministers, voters chose the saffron partners and the anti-incumbency mood is expected to prevail when state elections are held.
Barring former chief minister Ashok Chavan, allegedly involved in the Adarsh housing scam, most of the top guns in the state government have seen their electorate eroded.
Among the glaring examples are Home Minister R.R. Patil’s assembly constituency of Tasgaon, one of the six segments of Sangli where the BJP’s Sanjaykaka Patil secured 106,826 votes against the 68,698 secured by Congress nominee Pratik Patil.
Elsewhere, defeated Congressman and Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde polled fewer votes in the Solapur Central assembly segment, held by his daughter Praniti Shinde.
In Mumbai South, Milind Deora secured lesser votes in Worli represented by NCP’s Sachin Ahir, minister of state, housing, whilst in Chandivali assembly segment of Mumbai North Central, Congress nominee Priya Dutt also got fewer votes than Poonam Mahajan. This segment is held by Minority Affairs Minister Naseem Khan of the NCP.
Even in the Mumbai South Central constituency of senior Congressman Eknath Gaikwad, the slum concentrated Dharavi constituency held by his daughter and minister of women and child welfare Varsha Gaikwad, voters turned in a big way to Sena’s Raju Shewale who secured 51,497 votes as against 48,728 votes of Gaikwad.
It was the same with several other ministers — industries minister Narayan Rane, whose son Nilesh Rane lost from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, agriculture minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat — whose loyal voters have chosen either the BJP or Sena, rejecting the Congress and NCP.
Stunned by their humiliating defeat, the Congress held a meeting on Monday to reflect over the poor performance but expressed confidence in the leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
However, a section of Congress leaders do not want Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Manikrao Thakre and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and wish to replace them with stronger leaders to avoid a repeat of the Lok Sabha shocking poll performance.
