The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance appeared set to retain power in Maharashtra and was leading in 220 of the 288 assembly seats. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi was stumbling, with its candidates leading in just 47 seats. Indicating a landslide victory for the ruling alliance, TV channels said the Mahayuti was ahead in 220 seats and MVA in 68 constituencies, as counting of votes commenced Saturday morning in the November 20 elections. As per ECI figures, in the Mahayuti, BJP candidates were leading in 111 seats, Shiv Sena in 58 and NCP in 35 seats.
In the MVA, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidates were leading in 9 seats, Congress in 20 and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) in 18 seats. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were leading in their respective assembly constituencies in the first round of the counting of votes.
How did Mahayuti defy anti-incumbency to register its landslide victory? According to poll pundits, there are various factors which may have worked in favour of the ruling alliance. From Ladki Bahin yojana, to paying attention to vidharba reason to slogans like kategenge to batenge has reaped fruits.
Ladki Bahin Yojana: The Maharashtra government's Ladki Bahin Yojana proved to be the game changer for the ruling alliance as women across the board have received the financial assistance from the state government. The Maharashtra government has projected an annual financial burden of Rs 46,000 crore for Ladki Bahin Yojana but hit the chords of the woman masses in the state.
Batenge toh Katenge slogan: Despite welfare measures and the development pitch, phrases such as 'batenge toh katenge' (divided we fall), 'ek hai toh safe hai' (united we are safe), 'vote jihad' and 'dharma yuddha' dominated the campaign gradually. However, it proved to garner votes for the Mahayuti. The slogan coined by UP CM Yogi Adityanath proved to be a trump card for the BJP in Maharashtra. Adityanath urged people to stay united to reach the pinnacle of prosperity, saying the mistakes in Bangladesh should not happen in India. "Batenge toh katenge (if divided, we will be cut up). The slogan was also endorsed by PM Modi during his rallies in the state.
Vidarbh region
In this election, the Mahayuti also paid special attention to Vidarbha. The Mahayuti not only improved its position here but also instilled the confidence in the people that it stands with the farmers. The BJP alliance took steps to provide relief to cotton and soybean farmers.
Woo Muslim votes
The BJP alliance also made a successful attempt to woo Hindu and Muslim voters. On one hand, they tried to polarize Hindu votes by giving the slogan 'batenge toh katenge' and on the other hand, the Shinde government made it clear by increasing the salary of teachers of madrasas that it is not anti-Muslim. Due to which the BJP alliance got votes from both Muslims and Hindus.
Campaigning done by local leaders
BJP adopted a new strategy in the Maharashtra elections and got most of the campaigning done by local leaders. Devendra Fadnavis did the most campaigning on behalf of the BJP alliance. The strategy of the local leader to garner local votes by keeping the central leaders behind worked and its benefit was visible in the form of votes.
The opposition lacks issues
One reason for the victory of the Mahayuti is that the opposition lacked issues in this election. The opposition could not put in the efforts it should have made to corner the ruling party. The Mahayuti took advantage of this and got the votes in its favour.
