As ‘Maximum Maharashtra’ turns tough, BJP turns to Modi blitzkrieg
A dozen rallies already held, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on an aggressive campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, which is headed for a tough fight and gearing up for the third phase of polling on May 7. With six more rallies lined up, by the end of the fifth and final phase of polling in the state on May 20, the tally of PM rallies will rise to 18 — double of the nine that he had done across the state in 2019.
The state, which sends the second highest number of parliamentarians — 48 — to the Lok Sabha after Uttar Pradesh that sends 80 MPs, has turned into a major fighting ground for the BJP, which is eyeing 45 seats in the state and 370-plus seats across the country.
Despite split in two major regional parties — Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and NCP led by Sharad Pawar in June 2022 and July 2023 respectively, BJP reckons a stiff political challenge from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi — the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP). The caste polarisation, specifically in Marathwada with Maratha reservation protest led by activist Manoj Jarange Patil, coupled with anticipated sympathy factor in Thackeray and Sharad Pawar’s favour, BJP’s top leadership is leaving nothing to chance to turn the tide in its favour in the key state.
Modi’s first public rally in Maharashtra took place in Chandrapur in Vidarbha region on April 8. Five years ago, Chandrapur was the lone seat where Congress won. Apart from Chandrapur, PM rallies were held at Ramtek, Nanded, Parbhani, Wardha, Satara, Kolhapur, Solapur, Pune, Latur, Madha and Dharashiv. In the coming days, the party expects at least six more rallies in areas covering North Maharashtra, Mumbai, Thane and Marathwada region.
Why Maharashtra matters
Modi’s carpet bombing campaign has its origins in electoral mathematics. In 2014 and 2019 — when the BJP won 282 seats and 303 seats, respectively — Maharashtra contributed 41 seats each through its BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. This year, however, the political dynamics have changed and the BJP is banking heavily on its allies — Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “The BJP always believes every election brings new challenges. Though confident, the BJP will achieve its Mission 45, we cannot afford to become complacent. Modi’s appeal transcends beyond caste, community and issues. People have reposed faith in his leadership.”
That Maharashtra is proving to be a difficult turf is evident with the party extending Modi’s rallies in constituencies, which were considered safe. In the previous elections, Modi held 142 rallies across the country, including nine in state but had skipped Pune, Baramati, Nashik, Aurangabad, Sangli, Raigad and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg.
A senior BJP functionary, requesting anonymity, said, “The message conveyed to the state karyakartas is that they should double their efforts and aggressively take to the field. When Modi is working so hard, we have to compliment his efforts.”
Citing an example, the functionary said, “On Monday and Tuesday, Modi held six rallies in Solapur, Karad (Satara), Pune, Madha, Latur and Dharashiv — constituencies in Western Maharashtra and Marathwada region. Modi’s attack against Sharad Pawar during his rallies in Western Maharashtra was a well-orchestrated ploy to counter the sympathy for Sharad Pawar in the sugar belt and empower Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
State NCP (SP) chief Jayant Patil said, “What is the whole point if the BJP, even after two splits, is not sure about itself. They have to project PM for each and every seat. It shows which way the wind is blowing.”
Even before the elections were announced, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at a party conclave had told the party workers to devote 24×7 for the organisation, setting aside their personal political aspirations, while Bawankule impressed upon them to treat every constituency and candidate as a “fight for Modi”.
From ensuring coordination between three alliance partners to bitter power tussle over seat-division, state BJP is doing tightrope walk as the message from the Centre was stern and clear — Maximum Maharashtra.
Explaining Modi’s focus in Maharashtra, BJP spokesperson Vishwas Pathak said, “The BJP likes to compete with itself. In the last two elections, the tally went up from 282 to 303 seats. When the target for NDA is 400-plus, PM himself is leading from the front. It is not just Maharashtra, Modi’s rallies are taking place across the country.”
In the run up to the elections, the BJP had shortlisted 16 seats categorised as difficult. Apart from tackling the fault lines through organisational work, it also got the PM to push developmental agenda through projects.
Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut pulls a sarcasm saying, “In Maharashtra, they tried everything. Even after misuse of ED and CBI , things are not working. So, they are now using Modi in every seat.”
The BJP, however, argues that people want to see Modi and listen to him. According to Pathak, “We have a PM who is interacting with people during polls. Modi is campaigning because he is wanted by the people of this state and country. What else explains the mammoth crowd at his rallies despite high temperatures?”
PM’s state visits
From June 2022 to March 2024, Modi visited Maharashtra more than 10 times. In January 2024, within a week, Modi came to the state twice. On January 12, he unveiled the country’s longest bridge — Atal Setu — along with inaugurating and laying the foundation of projects worth almost Rs 15,000 crore. A week later, Modi was in Solapur to inaugurate the largest low-cost housing project in the country and laid the foundation of eight AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and UrbanTransformation) projects worth around Rs 2,000 crore.
The PM’s frequent visits to the state were clearly seen as BJP’s attempts to leverage his popularity and his government’s development message to win the maximum number of seats in Maharashtra. In December 2022, when the PM inaugurated the Samruddhi Mahamarg, it invited flak from the Opposition, which alleged that the project was completed in haste for PM’s inauguration.
Congress chief Nana Patole said, “How can any PM visit one state so frequently? Before elections, they said he was here for projects. Now, they need Modi to fetch votes. It shows BJP finds itself on a slippery pitch. They are unsure of public support.”
While Nagpur visit was the PM’s first since the Eknath Shinde-led government took over in June 2022 following the split in the Shiv Sena and the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) administration, Solapur was his eighth visit since the formation of Maha Yuti.
However, all trips were not for big-ticket infrastructure projects, some were for relatively smaller ones. In February 2023, apart from flagging-off two Vande Bharat trains linking Mumbai to the important pilgrimage centres of Shirdi and Solapur, the PM inaugurated the Santacruz-Chembur link road and the Kurar underpass.
Almost seven months later, in August, during a visit to Pune for an event where he shared the stage with NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Modi also flagged off a Metro train and laid the foundation of an energy plant for the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.
After a month, Modi visited Ahmednagar district and dedicated the left bank canal network of the Nilwande Dam to people, a Rs 5,177-crore irrigation project that had been pending for three decades. He visited the Shirdi Temple and inaugurated a state-of-the-art air-conditioned waiting room facility for pilgrims.
Prior to polls, the PM had covered at least 15 crucial Lok Sabha constituencies such as Nagpur, Pune, Ahmednagar, Shirdi, Nashik, Sindhudurg, and Solapur. In the two visits to Mumbai so far, the PM has covered six Lok Sabha constituencies there — Mumbai South, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North West and Mumbai North Central. The party believes that Navi Mumbai would have an impact on the constituencies of Thane and Raigad.
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