Breaking up with its ally of 25 years, the Shiv Sena, was a gamble which the BJP seems to have taken with a clear strategy in mind.
Led by its master strategist Amit Shah, the party banked on the appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to steer it close to the magic figure of 145.
The party’s score has jumped from 46 in 2009 to 122 with the leadership giving credit for that to Mr. Modi’s campaign in the State.
The BJP’s campaign, which included a blitzkrieg of rallies by its Central and State leadership, was pivoted around Mr. Modi, who held over two dozen rallies in 10 days across the State, even challenging the Pawars in their bastion Baramati — the first time in three decades a PM campaigned there.
He regularly targeted the Congress and the NCP over corruption charges against their alliance.
However, questions arise if the ‘Modi-wave’ was as lethal in the Assembly elections as it was during the Lok Sabha elections as the party could not come to power on its own strength.
In his rallies, Mr. Modi, while hard selling his development agenda, had appealed to voters to give his party a clear mandate to ensure smooth Centre-State coordination.
The results, however, have not exactly been sweeping. Even in constituencies where Mr. Modi held huge rallies, the party could not convert them into wins. In Brahmapuri, where Mr. Modi held a rally, the Congress wrested the seat from the BJP candidate by 14,000 votes. In Konkan region too, where Mr. Modi concluded his campaign, the BJP did not gain much. Both the Palghar and Ratnagiri seats, where Mr. Modi addressed rallies, were wrested by the Sena from the BJP and the NCP respectively.
In Tuljapur, where Mr. Modi predicted that the NCP and the Congress would not secure more than 10 votes each, the Congress comfortably managed to retain its seat. The BJP, however, swept Nashik and Pune. Does all this indicate that the Modi wave was not as effective as it was during the Lok Sabha elections?
BJP’s vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe thinks that it would be an unfair conclusion. “We have increased our tally overall. Our vote percentage has also increased. We need to consider the situation we performed under. It was tricky. People wanted the alliance. We wanted an alliance. But the Sena decided to go out,” he said.
By coming close to the halfway point, the BJP, however, has sent across a strong message to the Shiv Sena.
