Political circus

People of Maharashtra are the biggest losers

Maharashtra has come under President’s rule after none of the political parties or formations was able to find the required numbers in the Assembly to form a government — an outcome even the brightest political analysts did not anticipate after last month’s elections. Although the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not do as well as many were expecting, it got a comfortable majority in the 288-member Assembly with its pre-poll alliance partner, the Shiv Sena. But the latter had other plans and demanded an equal share in power with a claim on the chair of the chief minister — something that the BJP was unwilling to offer. It was widely speculated that the Sena would use the opportunity to bargain for plum ministries and ultimately join the government. But the Sena stayed stubborn and decided to explore other options. Predictably, it could not muster the required support within the timeframe set by the governor.

 

Clearly, the people of Maharashtra have been given short shrift. The BJP did the right thing by not attempting to form a government because it did not have the required numbers after the alliance with the Sena ended. It was obviously not practical to expect the BJP to serve as a junior partner in the alliance where it has roughly double the number of legislators the Sena has. The latter will have a lot of explaining to do because it will be held responsible for the political uncertainty if it is not able to bring together the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to form the government. It is clear that the Sena miscalculated the alternative scenario of leading a state government with the support of the two parties. Evidently, it will not be easy for the Congress and the NCP to support or be part of a Sena-led government. Even if all these parties come together, it would be an inherently unstable coalition. There is nothing wrong or new in realignment of political forces, but the Congress supporting or becoming part of a Sena-led government would be strange. It would also be difficult for the Sena to support a government led by the NCP, as it will defeat the purpose of breaking the alliance with the BJP.

 

Questions have also been raised about the role of the governor, who has been blamed for recommending President’s rule in a hurry even as political parties were asking for time to discuss the modalities of government formation. The governor should have exhausted all avenues before recommending President’s rule. Although technically President’s rule does not stop political parties from exploring options, it is possible that the state will remain under Central rule for an extended period. As things stand today, no one has gained from the political shift in the state. Political parties have been exposed and the credibility of the office of the governor has taken a knock. But the biggest losers are the people of Maharashtra, who don’t have a government and might have to fund another election.