Maharashtra Election Results 2019: Sharad Pawar-play works for NCP

Sharad Pawar at his Silver Oak Bungalow on Thursday. Pic/Bipin Kokate

One last push by the septuagenarian NCP leader Sharad Pawar seems to have worked wonders in dimming the saffron shine. Pawar's head-on campaign against the BJP-Shiv Sena helped the NCP improve its tally to 54 seats against its 2014 number of 41 seats. The tirade kicked off by the 79-year-old against the saffron parties and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was, however, not enough to overthrow the government in Maharashtra.

In an interaction with the media after the results, Pawar said that voters had rejected "the arrogance of power". He was, however, quick to admit that since people's mandate is not with them, he will not experiment to enable government formation. The BJP-Sena had contested separately in 2014 and managed to put together 184 seats. The number this time dipped to 157 despite the saffron parties having a pre-poll alliance for the Assembly polls.

Illustration/Uday Mohite

The NCP had contested 121 of the 288 seats in the state assembly as against 147 contested by the Congress. A few days before the announcement of polls, the Congress-NCP camp seemed to have lost its sheen with many old-timers and big leaders from both parties defecting to the rival camp.

Despite all odds though, including the Congress' lacklustre approach to Assembly polls, Pawar senior's took the lead against the BJP-Sena regime. He had slammed the ruling government for failing to deliver on promises made to farmers and handling the state's flood as well as drought situations. The tussle escalated further when the NCP supremo's name figured in an enforcement directorate (ED) case.

Stronger Opposition

"The poll results outcome would have been different had the central Congress leadership resolved infighting within state leaders. Also, the Gandhi clan members failed to give significant rallies to its candidates," a senior NCP leader close to the party chief told mid-day. The NCP's cadres' campaigning worked despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah addressing a series of rallies in the state and putting all their weight behind Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Opposition numbers on the Assembly floor have been revived significantly.

121
No. of seats NCP had contested

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