BMC elections 2017: How BJP tamed the tiger in Maharashtra for the 3rd time

The BJP put up a solid show winning 82 seats just two behind the Shiv Sena in the BMC elections.

The BJP came out of the shadow of being the 'younger brother' in Maharashtra for the third time since 2014. In the 2014 assembly elections, the saffron party had bagged 122 seats while the Shiv Sena which considered itself the 'big brother' in the state won just 63. In the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, the BJP won 23 while the SS bagged 18.

The Maharashtra civic polls once again reiterated that the BJP had grown up in the state to being the 'big brother'. The party won 471 seats in the all the 10 municipal corporations. It has a majority in 8 out 10 corporations. The numbers show that this a major improvement since 2012 when the party won 205 seats.

Even in the BMC elections the BJP put up a solid show winning 82 seats just two behind the Shiv Sena.

[Who will rule BMC: Here is how the numbers are adding up]

The Sena has a lot to learn from this BJP surge. It clearly missed the point for the second time since 2014. In 2014, the Sena had split from the BJP, but walked back into the alliance once the polls were over. For the BMC elections, the Sena had cited the 2012 result and was not ready to give the BJP 114 seats which it had demanded.

The Sena pointed out that the BJP had won only 31 seats in 2012 and hence the demand could not be met. The BJP even told the Sena that it was not ready to go down below 105, but it did not relent. In 2012, the Sena had won 75 while the BJP had bagged 31 seats. That year the BJP had contested on 63 seats.

The BJP says that the Shiv Sena's logic of quoting the 2012 BMC results was completely misplaced. It had been beaten by the BJP twice in 2014 -- in the assembly and Lok Sabha polls. In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had won 23 seats out of 48 with a 27 per cent vote share. The Sena on the other hand won 18 with a 21 per cent vote share.

After the win in the assembly elections, the BJP went ahead and formed the government in Maharashtra despite being 23 seats short of the majority mark. The NCP came forward and offered outside support. However the Sena after losing face, came back into the alliance and helped the BJP form the government. The Sena's Udhav Thackerey claimed on Wednesday that not just the next Mayor of Mumbai, but even the next chief minister of the state will be from his party. Well, for now let us that this is just wishful thinking from a junior partner in Maharashtra.

OneIndia News