Tag: Maharashtra Elections

Has Congress Learnt Any Lessons From The Maharashtra Rout?

By Prosenjit Nath

The upshot of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) assembly convened to talk about the ballot debacle in Maharashtra has been the choice to set up inside panels to study problems associated with electoral performance. According to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) usual secretary in cost of the celebration organization, who addressed the media after the CWC meeting, “The CWC has determined to represent inside committees to appear into things associated to electoral overall performance and organizational troubles at the block and district levels.

Venugopal, extensively considered as Rahul Gandhi’s eyes and ears and a man for all seasons, would be conscious that a comparable announcement used to be made when the Congress misplaced Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and carried out miserably in Madhya Pradesh in December 2023. Poll debacle panels headed using senior Congress leaders, such as Manish Tewari and Prithviraj Chavan, had traveled to Bhopal, Raipur, and Jaipur to talk with quite a few birthday celebration candidates to become aware of the motives for the defeats.

Venugopal did now not remark on the truth that these reports, submitted between December 2023 and January 2024, have but to be mentioned by way of the Congress Working Committee. Nor has any follow-up motion been taken.

Next, AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Venugopal stuffed several different panels with leaders like Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel, T.S. Singh Deo, Sachin Pilot, Ajay Maken, and others for Haryana and Maharashtra, except addressing accountability for the party’s defeats in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

Committee raj inside the Congress has been a handy quick-fix answer for decades. In May 2022, Sonia Gandhi, who was then the party’s intervening time as president, installed a high-profile Empowered Action Group (EAG) to handle the grand ancient party’s political challenges beforehand for the 2024 elections. However, there is no file of the EAG protecting deliberations between 2022 and 2024, nor of it formulating an approach for the 18th Lok Sabha polls.

In April 2020, Sonia Gandhi additionally appointed an 11-member consultative crew to boost the party’s views on more than a few current issues. This committee, which blanketed Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram, Manish Tewari, Jairam Ramesh, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Praveen Chakravarty, Gaurav Vallabh (now in the BJP), Supriya Shrinate, and Rohan Gupta (now in the BJP), seldom met or took action.

In September 2020, Sonia Gandhi, whilst carrying out a fundamental organizational reshuffle, fashioned a six-member one-of-a-kind committee to help her with organizational and operational matters. The participants protected A.K. Antony, Ahmed Patel (now deceased), Ambika Soni, K.C. Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, and Randeep Singh Surjewala. Instead of appointing a substitute for Ahmed Patel, the committee grew to be defunct.

Twelve months later, in 2023, another panel was formed, ostensibly to tackle problems such as inflation and unemployment and to arrange ‘sustained agitations.’ The nine-member panel protected Digvijaya Singh, Priyanka Gandhi, Uttam Kumar Reddy, B.K. Hariprasad, Udit Raj, Ripun Bora, Manish Chathrath, Ragini Nayak, and Zubair Khan. Ripun Bora has defected to the Trinamool Congress.

Kharge, Sonia, and Rahul Gandhi are additionally in possession of various reviews gathering dirt at 24, Akbar Road. These consist of the document on organizational polls via Ram Niwas Mirdha, Manmohan Singh’s record on birthday celebration funds, the P.A. Sangma and Sam Pitroda file on modernizing the organization, and Pranab Mukherjee’s document on organizational affairs. The listing additionally encompasses archives organized through the AICC’s Department of Policy and Planning (DIPCO) and the Future Challenges Group, which covered Rahul Gandhi as a member. Additionally, there are three reviews submitted using A.K. Antony on several ballot debacles between 2014 and 2019.

In a nutshell, nearly all of these panels and committees have endorsed sweeping modifications to the organization, however, intrinsic compulsions have so a long way avoided any concrete action.

For instance, each Mirdha and Antony emphasized the want for “democratic” organizational elections after gazing that the birthday party polled fewer votes in many states the place where the wide variety of predominant individuals was once higher. This was once specifically real for the Congress in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and a few different states.

In July 2007, a celebration panel headed by then-foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee proposed scrapping Congress committees at the block, city, and district levels, suggesting their alternative with devices at polling cubicles and Assembly and parliamentary constituencies. The purpose used to be to make the Congress extra “election-friendly” and to dispose of conflicts between district Congress committees and ballot candidates. However, the management is nonetheless contemplating the execs and cons of this suggestion.

Like Antony, Mukherjee also insisted on deciding on Assembly and parliamentary candidates at least six months earlier than voting. Yet, subsequent elections, which include several country Assembly polls and 4 Lok Sabha elections in 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2024, exhibit no proof of this suggestion being implemented.

On November 28, 2024, seventeen years later, Kharge at the CWC harped on the identical theme that Mukherjee, Antony, and Digvijaya had referred to in 2007. “The latest election effects additionally point out that we have to begin our election preparations in the states at least 12 months in advance. Our groups need to be existing on time in the field. The first element we need to do is to test the voter lists so that our supporters’ votes continue to be in the listing beneath all circumstances…,” Kharge stated.

“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose“—the more the things change, the more they continue to be the same—was a well-known quote using French creator Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in 1849.

(The writer is an Indian technocrat, political analyst, and author. The views expressed in the article are his own. His social media handle is @prosenjitnth)

The Most Confusing Election Ever In Maharashtra

‘This Was The Most Confusing Election Ever Witnessed By Maharashtra Voter’

By LokMarg

Rahul Gaur, a casting director in Mumbai, says politicians in the state have been switching sides faster than a voter can keep track. His views:

As a voter in Maharashtra, I never felt as confused about an election as I did this time. The electoral contest was in a complete mess, with so many parties, factions, and alliances pulling in different directions. It’s hard to tell who stood for what and whom. The clear lines between ideologies that once helped us decide were replaced by alliances that felt more like deals of convenience than partnerships based on values or beliefs.

On one side, there was the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar’s faction of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). On the other side was the Maha Yuti, led by the BJP and Eknath Shinde’s faction of Shiv Sena group and Ajit Pawar’s faction of NCP. Mind you, there are not just two Shiv Senas—one led by Uddhav Thackeray and the other by Eknath Shinde—but also two NCPs—one led by Sharad Pawar and the other by his nephew, Ajit. Pray what could get more confusing that mumbo jumbo?

I am sure other voters must have experienced the same confusion about who was following which ideology. Or did anyone even have an ideology anymore? Clearly, politicians are switching sides faster than we can keep track. Alliances are supposed to be about shared principles, but now they seem like power plays. The two factions of Shiv Sena both claim to represent Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy, but their actions say otherwise. Similarly, the split in NCP left us wondering which side is sticking to the party’s original goals and which one is chasing political power. As a voter, this was frustrating.

Indian electorate wants to make informed decisions, but the choices in Maharashtra aren’t clear anymore. Instead of focusing on real issues like jobs, education, and healthcare, we’re caught in a maze of alliances and breakups. It feels like we were voting for a reality show like Bigg Boss instead of electing a government.

ALSO READ: ‘Maharashtra Election Only About Grabbing Power, Not Vision’

In the past, many of us supported parties because of their values or leaders. But things have changed. Voters today are more flexible—we look at performance, promises, and who we think will actually deliver. This is why governments in Maharashtra have changed so often. People aren’t tied to one party or ideology anymore, and they’re willing to hold politicians accountable.

But this time, the election felt different. With so many players in the game, it was hard to predict what would happen. The alliances were so tangled that it seems like everyone was connected to everyone else in some way. Even when the NDA has emerged the clear winner, you cannot say the political machinations and crossing over or horse trading will stop hereto.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to trust. Whom can we trust to work for the people and not just for power? It’s a tough decision, and the mess of alliances and factions didn’t help. For now, we can only hope that the new government will lead Maharashtra in the right direction. But honestly, it was never this hard to decide.

For more details visit us: https://lokmarg.com/

As told to Deepti Sharma

Maharashtra Elections All About Grabbing Power

Maharashtra Elections All About Grabbing Power; No Party Has A Vision

By LokMarg

Preetanjan Singh, a young Mumbaikar, elaborates on the electoral contest with too many contestants and the political motifs that govern each party. His views:

While it might seem like there are too many players in the ring, especially with two factions of Shiv Sena and two factions of the NCP, it’s important to understand that the political landscape is more complex than it appears at first glance. The real challenge, however, lies in the fact that the citizens of Maharashtra, especially youth voters in Mumbai, must also navigate this intricate maze when casting their vote.

The multiple factions and alliances—the Maha Aghadi and Maha Yuti—may appear to create confusion, but if you look closely, each party’s decision to join a particular group is based on more than just opportunism. These alliances are formed out of shared goals or mutual political benefits, and though that doesn’t necessarily serve the greater good of the people, it is part of the strategy.

But here’s where things start to get tricky. For a young voter, the complexity of this system can be overwhelming, especially when you consider that the political struggle between two Senas and two NCPs isn’t just about ideology. It’s often about power and survival.

What would have been ideal, especially for youth voters, is a completely new political force—a party that could rise above the existing chaos and offer a fresh vision for Maharashtra. Rather than trying to control or align with the older, established parties, a new movement could have presented a clear break from the current power struggles. Instead, we’re left with the same old dynamics, with factions of the Shiv Sena and NCP battling for control, making the election feel more like a game of musical chairs than a real opportunity for change.

ALSO READ: ‘BJP Did Exactly What It Had Slammed Uddhav For’

One of the key reasons for this confusion is the dissatisfaction with leaders who are not directly elected by the people. Over the years, we’ve seen how power has been passed around, with leaders stepping into positions without any real mandate from the citizens. Past experiences have shown that people are frustrated with leaders who didn’t earn their place through the democratic process.

In Maharashtra, when power shifts happen through backdoor deals rather than through the ballot box, the sense of alienation grows. The public wants leaders they have voted for, who are directly accountable to them. This lack of a clear mandate is a real problem for youth voters who want a system that feels transparent and fair.

Take the Shiv Sena, for instance, where internal divisions have left the state in a political turmoil. The power struggle within the party has disrupted governance, leading to a lack of continuity in important infrastructure projects, stalled public transport improvements, and delayed other key developmental initiatives.

The state has witnessed firsthand how political infighting can paralyze governance. The constant back-and-forth between factions has only made it harder to move forward with the promises that were made during previous terms. The result is that the people of Maharashtra are left wondering if this power struggle is worth it. Shouldn’t the focus be on improving the state, instead of dealing with the internal squabbles of political leaders?

There is a lack of concrete agenda being presented to the public. Political parties have failed to deliver a clear vision for Maharashtra’s future. Rather than focusing on long-term solutions for the state’s key issues—like employment, infrastructure, education, and healthcare—parties are offering short-term promises designed to win votes in the immediate term. For a youth voter in Mumbai, this is especially troubling. Young people need clarity on how their lives will be improved in the coming years, but instead, they are forced to scrutinize political posturing and the shifting allegiances of the various factions.

Voters understand that winning more seats benefits the party members more than it benefits citizens. National elections have already shown the general mood of the public, and now, state elections will be the ultimate test of which faction has the most genuine support. The results of the Maharashtra elections will clarify which vision for the state resonates most with the public.

The outcome will clarify which side within these larger alliances has the most support, offering a clearer picture of the direction Maharashtra is headed. Ultimately, the election will not just be a contest of factions but a chance for the people to make their voices heard and choose the leadership they believe will serve their needs and aspirations.

(The narrator is a video editor, gamer and tech enthusiast with background in computer science and interest in global political trends)

For more details visit us: https://lokmarg.com/

As told to Deepa Gupta