A better option for the Shiv Sena is to extend outside support to the BJP to form the government. However, its power-hungry MLAs would never allow its leadership to think of long-term politics. Two weeks after the announcement of the assembly results, Maharashtra is on the verge of President’s Rule. This is despite the fact …
The space occupied by smaller parties is shrinking and the larger parties have become hegemons. These are not good signs for parliamentary democracy and really bad signs for a diverse and hierarchical society. The recent assembly election and its results in Maharashtra indicate the consolidation of the multi-party bipolar political system in the state. It’s …
The NCP has made a strong comeback in Pune district while denting the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Nashik district. The message from these verdicts is loud and clear – Prime Minister Modi’s speeches are no longer a game-changer. Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted 9 election rallies in Maharashtra. All the locations were carefully chosen with …
The most recent survey supervised by this author for Tractus predicted a surge in the prospective vote-share of the Congress-NCP alliance but a comfortable victory for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the state. The political status quo during the assembly election in Maharashtra is going almost unchallenged because no one is expecting much and no …
The Shiv Sena needs legislative leaders but can’t trust anyone anymore. Hence, Aditya Thackeray is contesting from the Worli constituency in Mumbai. Aditya Thackeray’s decision to contest an assembly election is a significant departure from Shiv Sena’s rogue politics. Aditya’s grandfather and founder of Shiv Sena, Balasaheb Thackeray, always considered himself above the system. Balasaheb …
After facing multiple defections from the rank and file of his party in the last two months, Sharad Pawar hit the ground running with his 6-day whirlwind tour of Marathawada and Western Maharashtra. Sharad Pawar’s name was synonymous with power in Maharashtra for more than 3 decades. Today Pawar is fighting for survival against the …
The recently conducted state-wide opinion poll by MIT School of Government (MITSOG), Pune has predicted a landslide victory for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the state. When the writing on the wall is clear, the opinion polls during the election season hardly matter. They could make the prospective winners complacent and further demoralise the …
The biggest political story in Maharashtra, after the Lok Sabha election, is that there is no big story unless the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena decide to contest the elections separately. Initial ground reports from poll-bound Maharashtra run along the expected lines. There is no emerging political plot in the state but mere …
PM Modi’s foreign policy agenda in his second term contrasts starkly with his first. The Modi government’s foreign policy agenda is emerging clearer in the third month of the second term. The offensive against Pakistan, soft posturing in the neighborhood, a nuanced position concerning China, and a recalibration of relations with the United States seem …
The question is what should the opposition, particularly PM Modi’s opponents in social media, do, and what should they not do? Photos and videos of Naga youth celebrating Nagaland’s self-declared independence day went viral on social media on the eve of India’s independence day. Most of the opponents of the BJP enthusiastically questioned the Modi …
