Maharashtra elections: Big guns fail, Congress bastion crumbles

MUMBAI: For the 140-year-old Congress, Saturday marked its worst ever defeat in the state legislative assembly elections. The party contested 101 seats and won only 16, and most of its high-profile politicians were defeated by large margins.

Now the party will not even be able to stake claim to the post of leader of opposition.
One of the chief-ministerial candidates, Balasaheb Thorat, had to face a humiliating defeat in his hometown of Sangamner, where he had won the last seven elections.
Another chief-ministerial candidate, Prithviraj Chavan, was defeated in his hometown of Karad by a massive margin.
There were several more like Thorat and Chavan who suffered major defeats.
Some like Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Nana Patole were able to prevent a defeat only by a slim margin. Patole retained his seat in the lower house of the state legislature by only a little over 200 votes.
Chavan said the defeat shocked him. "In my opinion, use of resources on an unprecedented scale and the popularity of the Ladki Bahin scheme was responsible for our debacle. After a few days, we will take a review of the political situation. We have not given up hope. We will revive the organisation at the grass-root level and hit back," the former chief minister said.
All-India Congress Committee general secretary Ramesh Chennithala, who is in charge of the state, also expressed shock and surprise over the results.
"We have seen the results of the Lok Sabha election five months ago. It is difficult to believe that the electorate will swiftly change their mood. It is quite shocking as to how our top politicians lost the elections," Chennithala said.
Chennithala said that as in-charge of the state he accepted responsibility for the defeat. "I am sure the new govt will effectively implement the Ladki Bahin and other welfare schemes," Chennithala said.
MPCC chief Patole too said that after a few days, the MPCC would analyse the results and take corrective steps for forthcoming elections. "We are determined to take on communal and divisive forces," he said.
Several Congress politicians said they never anticipated the Mahayuti sweep. "We were expecting to secure between 135 and 150 seats, but we never thought that the Mahayuti will sweep the polls. It was unexpected. It's time for self-introspection," a Congress politician said.
Many Congress politicians said they could not imagine that even Amit Deshmukh could lose. "It is difficult to believe that even non-controversial leaders like Thorat, Chavan and Deshmukh will be defeated in the state," a politician said.
He said even Haryana had witnessed a similar situation. As per initial speculation, Congress was expected to win in Haryana, but in the last one hour there was major turnaround, following which the Congress lost the poll in the northern state.
Thorat accused the BJP of resorting to "divisive politics, false propaganda, and promotion of hatred based on caste and religion". A former Congress state unit chief, Thorat said the result raised doubts in the minds of the common people. "The use of religion, money and schemes designed purely for political gains have played a significant role. This is not a true victory, but one achieved through tricks and by deceiving the electorate," he said.
He claimed the tactics employed by the BJP were unfamiliar to his constituency. "This is something new, and it did have an impact," he said.
On the inability of the Congress to replicate its Lok Sabha performance in the assembly poll, Thorat said the welfare schemes brought in by the state govt diverted people's attention from pressing issues such as jobs, inflation and farmers' struggles.