Eyes on OBC consolidation, Marathas: Inside story from BJP's core group meeting on Maharashtra
The BJP's top brass, including Home Minister Amit Shah and party chief J P Nadda, held a meeting of the party's core group from Maharashtra.
- Oct 15, 2024,
- Updated Oct 15, 2024 12:16 PM IST
After spectacular success in Haryana, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has set its eyes on Maharashtra, where elections are expected to be held in mid-November. On Monday, the BJP's top brass, including Home Minister Amit Shah and party chief J P Nadda, held a meeting of the party's core group from Maharashtra. Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and the party's national general secretary Vinod Tawde were among those who attended the meeting.
As it did in Haryana, the BJP is looking to consolidate the Other Backward Classes (OBC) together with other communities to take on the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). In Haryana, the BJP focussed on non-Jat communities such as OBCs and Dalits, who together constitute over 60 per cent of electorates. This strategy, coupled with seat-by-seat caste calculation, paid off, resulting in the third consecutive win in the state.
In Maharashtra, the saffron party is facing push-backs from Marathas over quota issue and farmers due to rural distress. However, the party is hopeful of winning over a big chunk of Maratha votes, along with its allies -- Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP. The BJP-led NDA is approaching the Maharashtra polls with micro-management, a strategy that paid rich dividends in Haryana.
After the Lok Sabha elections in which the MVA trounced the NDA in Maharashtra, the opposition was most favoured to win the assembly polls. However, the BJP's surprise win in Haryana has brought the party back in the game. In the Lok Sabha polls, the MVA bagged 30 seats against 17 of the NDA.
As per the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP led in 83 assembly seats, Shiv Sena 38, and NCP 6 - 127 seats, below the majority mark of 145. The Congress got leads in 63, Uddhav THackeray's Shiv Sena 56, and Sharad Pawar's NCP was ahead in 32 - 151 seats.
The NDA, however, secured almost equal vote share with the MVA. This gives the NDA confidence that it may turn the tables as it did in Haryana.
The Election Commission (EC) will announce the poll dates for Maharashtra today at 3:30 pm.
(With inputs from PTI)
After spectacular success in Haryana, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has set its eyes on Maharashtra, where elections are expected to be held in mid-November. On Monday, the BJP's top brass, including Home Minister Amit Shah and party chief J P Nadda, held a meeting of the party's core group from Maharashtra. Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and the party's national general secretary Vinod Tawde were among those who attended the meeting.
As it did in Haryana, the BJP is looking to consolidate the Other Backward Classes (OBC) together with other communities to take on the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). In Haryana, the BJP focussed on non-Jat communities such as OBCs and Dalits, who together constitute over 60 per cent of electorates. This strategy, coupled with seat-by-seat caste calculation, paid off, resulting in the third consecutive win in the state.
In Maharashtra, the saffron party is facing push-backs from Marathas over quota issue and farmers due to rural distress. However, the party is hopeful of winning over a big chunk of Maratha votes, along with its allies -- Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP. The BJP-led NDA is approaching the Maharashtra polls with micro-management, a strategy that paid rich dividends in Haryana.
After the Lok Sabha elections in which the MVA trounced the NDA in Maharashtra, the opposition was most favoured to win the assembly polls. However, the BJP's surprise win in Haryana has brought the party back in the game. In the Lok Sabha polls, the MVA bagged 30 seats against 17 of the NDA.
As per the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP led in 83 assembly seats, Shiv Sena 38, and NCP 6 - 127 seats, below the majority mark of 145. The Congress got leads in 63, Uddhav THackeray's Shiv Sena 56, and Sharad Pawar's NCP was ahead in 32 - 151 seats.
The NDA, however, secured almost equal vote share with the MVA. This gives the NDA confidence that it may turn the tables as it did in Haryana.
The Election Commission (EC) will announce the poll dates for Maharashtra today at 3:30 pm.
(With inputs from PTI)