Women's welfare, addressing rural distress top Mahayuti 2.0 agenda

The BJP's decision to elect Devendra Fadnavis as the leader of its legislative wing, which paves the way for him to become the next chief minister of Maharashtra, has finally ended the challenge of government formation for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state.

Although the BJP has managed to convince the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) to stop chasing the chief minister’s post for now, smooth coordination between the three Mahayuti alliance partners – the BJP, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – will play a crucial role in the functioning of the government.

Leaders of the BJP and other NDA allies believe the first step for the government would be caring for the welfare of the women who helped the coalition win the elections. They believe the Ladli Behna Yojana played a crucial role in the electoral turnaround.

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The government agenda

“It is a happy occasion the NDA is returning to power in Maharashtra. It was obvious the chief minister’s post would go to the BJP as it has the support of 137 MLAs. It is for the chief minister to decide the agenda of the government but the NDA will definitely work for the women who have supported the alliance,” Nikhil Laxmanrao Jadhav Patil, a NCP MP, told The Federal.

Between the Lok Sabha and state elections, the Ladli Behna Yojana was the biggest gamechanger as the vote percentage of women for the NDA zoomed by more than 5 per cent.

Another area of struggle for the new government would be to meet the expectations of the farmers, especially onion, soybean, cotton and rice farmers, who caused havoc for the NDA in the Lok Sabha battle.

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Rural distress remains

Senior BJP leaders said that while the NDA has managed to limit the impact of rural distress in the elections, managing the affairs of farmers will remain a challenge.

“Social security is going to be the theme of the government," a BJP leader from Mumbai told The Federal. "The development of rural economy and increase in MSP (minimum support price) will be the focus area. Social security does not only mean welfare of the financially weaker sections but it also means better prices for farmers and increase in the income of women."

With the elections for local body elections likely to take place early in 2025, NDA leaders believe the government will focus on improving urban infrastructure.

The BJP feels the local body elections could play a crucial role in the functioning of the government as a win will further strengthen the NDA. “Both Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray will again try to defeat the NDA. The local body elections play a crucial role in forming public opinion,” Dilip Deodhar, a Nagpur-based author and observer of the RSS, told The Federal.

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Maratha agitation

The resounding victory of the NDA has sent a clear message in Maharashtra that the ruling alliance has managed to counter the backlash of the Maratha agitation for now.

Senior leaders believe that with the presence of Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar in the government along with some prominent Maratha leaders of the BJP, the latter would be able to manage the Maratha agitation.

“The agitations by Maratha community for reservation will never end. But we can definitely say the BJP-NDA has checkmated the agitation. The…election victory will definitely help the BJP counter the impact of Maratha agitation and farmer agitation,” the BJP leader from Mumbai told The Federal.

Modi’s slogan

The politics of Maharashtra was muddled by caste politics for some years because of the demand for reservation by different communities. But the NDA countered it through its slogan of Ek Hai To Safe Hai’ (Stay United, Stay Safe).

“There is no doubt this slogan is going to help the BJP and NDA in governance also. The BJP and Shiv Sena are both on the same page as far as the slogan is concerned,” Deodhar said.