New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) lost seven out of eight seats of the Marathwada region during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, the BJP-led Mahayuti staged a stunning comeback by leading in 37 out of 46 assembly seats from Marathwada in the assembly polls.
The consolidation of OBC voters in favour of Mahayuti and the Ladki Bahin Yojana are the two significant reasons for Mahayuti’s success in this region. Historically a Shiv Sena stronghold, Marathwada is now dominated by the Eknath Shinde faction of the Sena and the BJP.
As per the latest Election Commission of India (ECI) data, the Mahayuti alliance partners are leading in 37 seats, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in eight seats while the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) is leading in one seat in Marathwada.
This region has the largest concentration of Marathas in the state. While Manoj Jarange Patil’s agitation for the Maratha quota was significant in the consolidation of Maratha votes in favour of the MVA in Lok Sabha, it failed to do so in the assembly polls. Critics believe that Jarange Patil’s decision to not contest the elections at the last moment could have worked against the MVA. A large chunk of Maratha voters were left uncertain about their voting choice after Jarange Patil decided not to contest the elections.
Kalicharan Maharaj’s speech
In the last days of the election campaign in Marathwada, a Hindu religious leader, Kalicharan Maharaj campaigned for Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Shirsat who is winning from the Aurangabad West seat.
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Maharaj delivered anti-Muslim speeches and also called Jarange Patil a “demon” who has come to “divide Hindu votes”. He tried to consolidate the OBC voters behind the Mahayuti candidates. Local journalists from Aurangabad suggest that this speech has worked positively in favour of the BJP and its partners.
Marathas cut to size
The Maratha community had made a significant impact in the recent parliamentary elections, where the BJP suffered its worst defeat in the state. However, the BJP quickly bounced back by strategically deploying OBC leaders to counter the Marathas. This clever move paid off, and BJP leaders had as many as 330 discreet meetings with various OBC factions. Bhupendra Yadav, who made Maharashtra his base after the elections, oversaw this low-key yet effective operation. This factor played a key role in the 46 Marathwada seats.
The “batenge toh katenge (if you stand divided, you will be slaughtered)” slogan was like a two-sided knife. On one hand, it drew the communal fault lines while on the other hand, it also appealed to the OBC voters to stay united against the Maratha voters who had supported the MVA during the Lok Sabha polls.
Ladki Bahin Yojana
Maharashtra election saw women outnumber men for the first time in this election which was fought in the backdrop of the Ladki Bahin Yojana. This scheme ensured a monthly sum of Rs 1500 directly in the bank accounts of close to 2.5 crore women of Maharashtra. Despite rural distress and procurement of cotton at lower rates than MSP, the Mahayuti managed to win the rural seats.
Overall, the Mahayuti has swept the state by winning more than 230 seats, as per the ECI website. The BJP is on course to win 130 seats on its own, beating its previous best of winning 125 seats in the 2014 assembly polls. Both Marathwada and Vidarbha which gave significant leads to the MVA in Lok Sabha, completely routed them in the assembly polls. It remains to be seen whether Eknath Shinde will continue as the chief minister of Maharashtra or if Devendra Fadnavis will return to the post.
