People were desperate for change and the BJP succeeded in creating a light of hope among the masses. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took full advantage of the situation that resulted in rising of the party’s strength from 46 to 122 seats in Maharashtra Assembly for the first time. I believe the BJP and Shiv Sena will come to an understanding and in a couple of days the process for the formation of coalition government would be completed.
Though the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, with 41 seats, has offered unconditional support, the BJP will not dare to take its support as it cannot be trusted.
A stable government is certainly in the interest of Maharashtra. The only problem in the light of democracy and social justice is zero representation of Muslims in the next government. Neither BJP and nor Shiv Sena has a single Muslim MLA, which is not good for democracy. BJP needs to become an inclusive party in true sense by giving representation to minorities.
The BJP now has a rising graph, which will definitely have an impact on other states in the days to come. But sustainability of this rise depends upon the BJP government at the Centre. So far, the euphoria of Mr Modi has helped the party sweep the Assembly polls, but in the next two to three years, people will start judging the government by its performance and this euphoria would become irrelevant then.
Coming to the rift between BJP and Shiv Sena, it is relevant to say that if the Ram Mandir issue would have been alive, the scenario would have been different as the existence of one major issue renders the rest secondary. One also needs to understand that at the time of Ram Mandir issue, BJP was not in power. Actually, power is an issue in itself. After coming to power, that too in an alliance government, issues like staking claim for the post of chief minister and distribution of portfolios have always been matters that create differences.
I also feel that the rift among saffron ranks depends upon the leadership that the state is going to experience in the coming days. More importantly, the future of the Sena also depends upon the growth of its ideological partner, the BJP. Shiv Sena will start becoming insignificant if BJP’s popularity continues to increase.
The BJP needs to change its image of a sectarian party. In a democratic country like India which is very diverse in nature, BJP has to change its image, if it wants to win elections time and again.
As told to Faisal Malik.
Mr Kulkarni is a socio-political activist and columnist. Views are his own.
