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NEW DELHI: The poor performance of the BJP in the by elections will have a direct adverse impact on its seat adjustment talks with the Shiv Sena for the Maharashtra Assembly elections later this year. The Shiv Sena, predictably, took potshots at the BJP after its poor performance in the by elections asking it to “stop flying” and keep its “feet on the ground.”
The Shiv Sena is currently in hard negotiations with the BJP to contest at least 150 Assembly seats of the total of 288 in Maharashtra. The by poll results where the BJP lost crucial seats in states like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan gave a handle to the Shiv Sena to say in its mouthpiece Saamna, “in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP made great strides in UP but now the bypoll results have been the opposite. This is a lesson for Maharashtra polls. It is a lesson for all. Don’t take people for granted.”
The seat sharing talks, scheduled to re-commence on Thursday, will find a chastened BJP after these results. The Shiv Sena is clearly hardening its position and is not likely to dilute its demand for Maharashtra at this stage. The Saamna editorial has pointed to a distinct difference between the national elections where there was a Modi wave, and state elections where different factors prevail. The BJP in its discussions with the Sena had been pointing towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vote mobilising capacity that has now countered it by raising the bypoll results.
"Keep your feet on ground. Don't get swayed by the frenzy of victory (in Lok Sabha polls). Only those who learn this lesson will win Maharashtra. Or else the public will do the needful," the Sena said.
Significantly, the Shiv Sena specifically pointed out that BJP MP Adityanath raised the 'love-jihad' issue but the bypoll results show that it did not have any impact.
However it was categorical that, "nobody should credit Sonia or Rahul Gandhi for Congress performance in the latest bypolls." Similarly, nobody should also claim that the results are a mandate against Modi, it added.
“People’s minds are fickle. It is their decision. The bypoll results are lesson for October 15 Maharashtra Assembly polls. It is a lesson for all,” the Sena said.
Senior Sena leader Ramdas Kadam asked the old ally to see the “ground reality” and let a workable seat- sharing formula emerge for the assembly elections in Maharashtra, now less than a month away.
“The bypoll results should make the BJP realise the ground reality. They should stop flying in the air and come back to earth. If even now they choose not to learn a lesson, and continue to be highhanded, I can only wish them good luck,” Kadam said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi can no longer spin magic in elections, Kadam said, adding that in Maharashtra, the people’s reverence for the memory of Bal Thackeray cannot be undermined.
Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said, “We have already indicated that we will not climb down from 150 seats. However, the BJP is insisting on 135 seats out of 288 for itself.”
