Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan with the newly-sworn Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar during the swearing-in ceremony, in Mumbai, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024
PTI
Mumbai: The presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and key allies like Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Union Heavy Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy in the swearing in of the new Maha Yuti government in Maharashtra sends out a wider message to the NDA allies.
After the debacle in the Lok Sabha polls, where the BJP and its allies - Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar-led NCP got a drubbing at the hands of the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi-INDIA opposition bloc, the landslide victory in Maharashtra came as a shot in the arm.
“The message that the BJP sent out was very important. In the emerging political scenario, allies assume much more than earlier,” political observers said about the swearing in ceremony of Devendra Fadnavis as CM and Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as Deputy CMs.
In the 15th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the MahaYuti has 235 seats of the total strength of 288.
The BJP has got 132 seats, Shiv Sena 57 and NCP 41.
The BJP has support of five legislators from the smaller parties and independents.
“If one looks at the numbers, the BJP is very close to the magic figure of 145. However, the BJP accorded full respect to Shiv Sena and NCP,” the sources said, that the BJP ensured that wherever the BJP is in power, it is represented on the dais. “Around a dozen union ministers were present, CMs of BJP ruled states were present,” BJP leaders said.
As far as coalition politics is concerned, Maharashtra is one of those states where it has existed for around 30 years. “Keeping allies in good humour is important,” the observers said and pointed out that in 2019, when Uddhav Thackeray, who led the undivided Shiv Sene broke three-decade alliance with Shiv Sena, it was a big jolt to the BJP.
“Late Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray enjoyed personal equations with late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani. Besides, there were people like the late Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde who acted as bridge,” said a Shiv Sena leader.