The Bharatiya Janata Party registered emphatic electoral victories in Maharashtra and Haryana, consolidating the narrative of a Modi wave sweeping all before it and handing the prime minister a renewed endorsement, which may enable him to step up the pace of economic reforms. The partys road to power in Maharashtra was considerably smoothened after the Sharad Pawar-led NCP sprang a surprise by offering outside support to BJP on the ground that the saffron party was ahead of its rival and Maharashtra needed a stable government. We have taken this decision in the interests of governance. Only BJP can provide a stable government, NCP leader Praful Patel said. Sources close to NCP said the announcement had been made after back-channel talks with BJP. The announcement did not surprise the ruling party, according to these sources. BJPs Parliamentary Board, which met to take stock of the post-poll situation and nominate CM candidates for Maharashtra and Haryana ended without a formal announcement on either the next CMs or the future ally in Maharashtra. Home Minister Rajnath Singh was deputed to handle the Maharashtra situation and Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu was sent to Chandigarh to oversee the election of legislative party leader. BJPs national general secretary JP Nadda, speaking after the parliamentary board meeting, offered no clues as to the BJP leaderships thinking on its relationship with estranged ally Shiv Sena. However, party sources in Mumbai said BJP is exploring the possibility of getting support from seven independent MLAs and five MLAs from smaller parties to further strengthen its position. It would also reach out to Sena, these sources said. Sena may ask for the post of deputy CM and more ministerial berths in Delhi, according to some sources close to BJP. The party is likely to offer one-third of the ministerial berths to Sena in Maharashtra as per the 1995 formula, though the roles are now reversed with BJP being the senior ally.BJP MLAs are likely to meet on Monday evening in Mumbai to select their leader and the next chief minister. In the results announced on Sunday, BJP comfortably won a simple majority in Haryana and emerged the single-largest party in Maharashtra , winning 122 seats, just 23 short of a simple majority. BJP also became the first party to cross the 100-seat mark in the Maharashtra assembly since the 1990 state polls. Its vote shares jumped too, almost doubling in Maharashtra and trebling in Haryana, compared with 2009. The people have acknowledged Modiji as the undisputed leader of the country, party president Amit Shah said at a press conference on Sunday evening. The two victories, apart from increasing the momentum for economic and boosting the governments morale, will also help the ruling party get crucial numbers in the Upper House during the next round of Rajya Sabha polls, a couple of years hence. A working majority in the Rajya Sabha is essential for the Modi government to pass crucial legislation. Sena, with 63 MLAs in the new assembly, has clout when it comes to Rajya Sabha elections, which could be an incentive for a patchup with BJP though the situation remained fluid on Sunday evening. The results in Maharashtra fell somewhat short of the expectations of BJPs top leaders, who had expected a simple majority, according to people in the know. It also raised doubts about BJPs wisdom to end its 25-year-old alliance with Sena. Veteran BJP leader LK Advani pointed out to reporters, It will be good if the old relationship between BJP and Shiv Sena is revived. I had said earlier too that this relationship should not have broken up. But by evening any difficulties in government formation in the western state seemed to have disappeared after NCP offered BJP unconditional outside support. Read more at: economictimes.indiatimes/articleshow/44881897.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 07:42:54 +0000
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