A haughty BJPs development agenda at the mercy of a unforgiving Sena

Time and again history has proven that arrogance of power, jingoism, alienation from reality, people and cadres has ultimately cost the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) its development agenda dearly. Its insistence on seeking revenge on its own estranged ally the Shiv Sena for the humiliation it had heaped on it before it snapped ties in 2014 cost it dearly in especially in Konkan belt. In the process though, a victorious yet battered and bruised BJP has handed over the advantage back to the Sena. The blame squarely lies at the doorsteps of the BJP for being haughty.

With one stroke of the headily arrogant BJP will now have to dance more to the tunes of the Shiv Sena than ever before. The Sena has already voiced its opposition to BJPs ambitious mega oil refinery project at Nanar in Ratnagiri district. Besides this the Sena has also voiced its opposition to BJPs big ticket infrastructure projects like the Metro 3 car shed at Aarey Milk Colony, Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project, mega nuclear power project at Jaitapur in Ratnagiri district. The BJP will also have to swallow a bitter pill when it comes to Senas criticism of some of its decisions like Demonetization.

Though the Sena may be down in terms of seats it has won, it has proverbially caught the “tiger” by its tail. The Sena is bound to extract its pound of flesh when it comes to supporting the BJP on some of its pet infrastructure projects. In 2004, just like the NCP acceded its claim over the chief ministers post in lieu of key portfolio’s like Home and Finance, the Sena too might well do somewhat similar hard bargaining when it comes to posts, ministries and other windfall benefits. What the BJP surely did not anticipate was that its wheels of fortune would turn so drastically so soon and would have to beg for mercy from its very own.

The collapse of the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank) or the economic slowdown, job losses, rising inflation, water scarcity in Marathwada and a floundering Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and BJPs half-hearted attempts to resolve these potential flash points was its undoing. Another biggest let off that the BJP gave to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was its failure to initiate any action in the multi-crore Irrigation scam or the recent loan scam in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (Apex Bank). It was just the kind of let off NCP chief Sharad Pawar was looking for from the BJP.

As stated in our earlier reports, the BJPs heady jingoism and penchant for coining phrases, setting out targets like “Aab Ki Bar 220 Ke Par” was highly misplaced. What should have been internal targets for its own cadres was openly bragged about by its leadership before the electorate, which did not take it kindly and viewed it as a sign of its arrogance. Ignoring its own cadres in favor of imports from other parties, alienated its own cadres and miffed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Besides, its over-dependence on its “friendly allies in the opposition” like the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Musalmeen (MIM) to bail it out clearly did not work out strategy wise. For some strange inexplicable reasons the BJP dragged its feet in taking strict action against those who were found guilty in the Bhima-Koregaon agitation of 2018, arguing it might hurt its friendly opposition ally the VBA.

Secondly, its targeting of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar with Enforcement Directorate notices did not go down well with the electorate either. Although Pawar senior did not take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi head-on, he did take a swipe at his trusted aide, Union Home Minister Amit Shah rebuking him that like him (Shah) he had not been to jail. Whatever, hopes that the BJP had in Satara Lok Sabha by-poll were washed away with a drenched Pawar senior holding fort much to the liking of the electorate.

Thirdly, there was no connection between abrogation of Article 370 with that of the floods in Sangli-Kolhapur or Pune. While the Sena and Aditya Thackeray were wise enough to seek blessing and thanked the electorate for their support in the Lok Sabha polls through his Jana Ashirwad Yatra, Fadnavis sounded more arrogant through his MahaJanadesh Yatra which he did halt much later after it became clear that the people did not like it when Sangli-Kolhapur were in the grip of severe floods. The BJP failed to make its own government in Karnataka realize the need to release waters from its own dams to ease the flood waters in Sangli-Kolhapur.

A prime example of being completely disconnected with the people and ground realities is the example of a small sleepy village of Pohoner on the banks of the Godavari river in Parli tehsil of Beed district. Under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, BJPs sitting Lok Sabha MP from Beed, Dr Pritam Munde had selected the village for a complete makeover. She is the younger sister of now defeated BJP minister Pankaja Munde who lost from Parli assembly seat to their estranged cousin brother Dhananjay Munde. Five years on the village still lacks a proper access road, no proper internal village roads, street lighting or assured drinking water supply.

It is rather ironic for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to have credited the “victory” to the party cadres. Only last year the same Fadnavis had chided party cadres for hanging around the corridors of power in Mantralaya and asked them to go back to their constituencies. Neither the BJP had any answer to Mantralaya turning into a suicide point for distressed farmers. Lastly, clipping the wings of his potential rivals like Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawde, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Pankaja Munde and importing leaders to bolster chances of victory proved the undoing for Fadnavis. Neither the cadres got anything, nor the people, in the end, both taught a lesson the hard way for the BJP.