Swept by Sena-BJP in 2019, 13 Maharashtra seats witness poor turnout this time

Animesh Singh

New Delhi, May 20

All 13 seats of Maharashtra which went to the polls in the fifth phase on Monday were swept by the then BJP-undivided Shiv Sena alliance in 2019, with the Congress and the NCP drawing a blank.

Unemployment, farm distress key issues

With issues of development, employment, farmers’ distress and lack of industries casting a shadow over the Hindu-Muslim divide and Ram Temple in Maharashtra, the Mahayuti faces an uphill battle in the state where it had wrested 41 of the total 48 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

However, with both Shiv Sena and the NCP witnessing a vertical split, all these seats now pose a tough challenge to the ruling Mahayuti comprising the saffron party and the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, as well as the NCP led by Ajit Pawar.

Some indication of the prevailing political situation is visible in the poor turnout in the fifth phase, which stood at 48.6 per cent till 5 pm.

In 2019, the BJP had won Dhule, Dindori, Bhiwandi, Mumbai North, Mumbai North East, and Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seats, which went to the polls on Monday.

The remaining seven seats, including Kalyan, Mumbai North West, Mumbai South, Mumbai South Central, Nashik, Palghar and Thane, were won by the undivided Shiv Sena.

However, as political temperatures rose just months after the General Election, and the heat melted the velcro uniting the traditional partners over the tussle for the chief minister’s post, the Shiv Sena veered towards the Congress and the NCP, forming a government in the state under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

With the Shiv Sena splitting in June 2022, the MVA government fell, and the Mahayuti of the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena came to power, with the latter becoming the chief minister.

The alliance got a further boost when the NCP too split in July 2023 with Ajit Pawar heading the breakaway faction and joining the Mahayuti government in the state.

Though the Shiv Sena then gave an impressive performance on the 13 seats that went to the polls today, winning three out of the six Mumbai seats and even bagging the neighbouring seats of Kalyan, Thane and Palghar, the palpable anger among Marathi ‘manoos’ over the two regional parties facing a split is going against the BJP in the current Lok Sabha polls, say experts.

Anand Ambekar, journalist and political analyst, told The Tribune that development-related issues, farm woes and employment were key issues in the state.

“What is Ram Temple’s relevance when there is no employment? Input costs for farmers are rising and inflation is troubling all of us,” said Bala Mouskar, a Wardha-based farmer.