Maharashtra polls: Rifts emerge within Mahayuti, MVA after election results

PUNE A day after the assembly election results, accusations of sabotage and internal discord have surfaced within both, the Mahayuti and the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), exposing cracks in the alliances.

In Beed district, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suresh Dhas, who retained the Ashti seat with a decisive margin of 77,000 votes, accused senior party leader Pankaja Munde of undermining his campaign. Dhas alleged that Munde directed her aides to support his rival, Bhimrao Bhonde, an independent candidate banking on OBC votes.

Beed, already polarised along Maratha-OBC lines, became a hotspot for intense political battles, with Dhas managing to secure his victory despite these challenges.

During his victory rally, Dhas said, “Pankajatai, you should not have done this. You have lost a good person.” He alleged that Munde’s actions had complicated an already fraught contest but credited his team for overcoming the obstacles.

In Solapur’s Malshiras constituency, BJP candidate Ram Satpute, who lost by 13,000 votes, blamed BJP MLC Ranjitsinh Mohite for his defeat. Satpute accused Mohite of actively supporting his opponent, Uttam Jankar, and even financing efforts to undermine his campaign.

Satpute’s frustration was evident in a social media post where he claimed that Mohite had provided financial backing to his sugar factory while working against the party. He alleged that BJP polling agents were threatened and demanded Mohite’s expulsion, stating, “Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil, despite being an MLC supported by the BJP, worked against the party. He should be immediately removed.”

The Mohite family has a significant influence in Solapur. While Mohite’s relatives have shifted allegiances to the NCP (Sharad Pawar) in recent years, Ranjitsinh remained with the BJP but faced accusations of disloyalty.

Within MVA, in Solapur South, Congress MP Praniti Shinde faced allegations from the Shiv Sena (UBT) of sabotaging the MVA candidate Amar Patil. The Congress bastion was allocated to the Shiv Sena (UBT) as part of the seat-sharing arrangement, leaving Shinde reportedly unhappy. She allegedly supported independent candidate Dharmaraj Kadadi, who split the vote, ultimately aiding BJP’s Subhash Deshmukh in securing the seat by a margin of 77,000 votes.

Shiv Sena (UBT) workers staged protests against Shinde, accusing her of betraying the alliance. UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi criticized the development on social media, remarking, “The independent candidate supported by MP Praniti Shinde over the MVA candidate lost his deposit while ensuring the defeat of the official MVA Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate.”

According to political analysts, these incidents highlight the fragility of alliances driven by political compulsions.

“These coalitions, forged for electoral gain, often fail to penetrate the grassroots. Leaders act in self-interest, and party workers are unwilling to compromise for the larger goals of the alliance,” said Chitra Lele, professor of political science at SNDT College.

As the Mahayuti and MVA navigate the fallout of these internal clashes, the growing discontent underscores the challenges of maintaining unity in alliances cobbled together under electoral pressure.