Maharashtra: The lessons for the BJP to learn

New Delhi, Nov 28: After much drama in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress will form the government with Uddhav Thackeray at the helm of affairs.

One would say that the BJP would have been better off had it not staked a claim to form the government. The early morning swearing-in by Devendra Fadnavis turned out to be a misadventure, as he was unable to muster up the numbers. There are some lessons for the BJP to learn from this incident.

Leading political scientist, Dr Sandeep Shastri tells OneIndia that the with the BJP emerging as the prominent party in India, in Maharashtra, they behaved like a dominant party. They felt that they could get away with it.

One may say that the BJP lost the moral edge in Maharashtra, though at first it was said that the Shiv Sena acted smart after the election results were declared. I feel that a lot of public sympathy for the BJP went once it did what it did on Saturday.

This, in fact, strengthened the new alliance. What looked like a weak alliance at first now looks strong. I would say that the alliance is further emboldened and the focus of an anti-BJP coalition has become stronger.

Dr Shastri says that the BJP may put the blame on Ajit Pawar. In Maharashtra, the BJP has a fall guy in Ajit Pawar now. However, I feel that it would be a cover-up. The alliance according to me has become stronger in spite of internal contradictions. The second term for any government is always a challenge and now the question is whether this is the start of an anti-BJP coalition.

On the longevity of this coalition, Dr Shastri says that in the immediate future, it would sail through. It is in the vested interest of all these three parties that they would remain together, Dr Shastri further adds.