LS Poll Debacle: MPCC to assess 'what went wrong'

18-05-14

* Besides, Lok Sabha constituency wise review meetings will be held between May 20 and 22

By Kartik Lokhande
In the wake of decimation of Congress party in the State and never-before spectacular success to Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena-RPI (A) ‘Mahayuti’ in Lok Sabha election, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has taken up the exercise of ‘introspection’ and an assessment of ‘what went wrong’.
“A meeting has been called on Monday in Mumbai to assess the situation after Lok Sabha polls, and deliberate upon the future course of action,” MPCC chief Manikrao Thakre told ‘The Hitavada’ over telephone on Sunday. The meeting will be held at 1 pm on Monday at Tilak Bhavan, Dadar (Mumbai). Apart from Manikrao Thakre, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan will attend the meeting. The office-bearers of MPCC and some of the frontal organisations have been invited to the meeting.
Replying to a query, Thakre said that resignations tendered by various ministers including Industries Minister Narayan Rane, EGS Minister Dr Nitin Raut, and many office-bearers at various places, will also be discussed in the meeting. “Apart from this, we will be conducting a Lok Sabha constituency-wise assessment on May 20, 21, and 22. This round of assessment will be held in Mumbai,” Thakre added. In the constituency-wise assessment, ministers, ministers of state, party legislators, Members of Parliament and candidates who lost the election, President of Zilla Parishad, Mayors, select office-bearers from various constituencies will be invited.
In the recently held Lok Sabha elections, Congress has suffered a huge setback in Maharashtra, where it is the ruling party along with ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Of a total 48 Lok Sabha seats in the State, Congress could win only two and its ally NCP managed to do slightly better with four seats. Many heavyweight leaders of Congress including Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, Congress Working Committee member Mukul Wasnik, seven-term MP Vilas Muttemwar, some of the ministers namely Social Justice Minister Shivajirao Moghe, Environment Minister Sanjay Deotale lost the battle. Even the sons of many stalwarts including Industries Minister Narayan Rane’s son and sitting MP Nilesh, Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam’s son Vishwajeet also lost.
Soon after it came out that Congress had lost 25 out of total 27 seats it contested in Lok Sabha election, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had owned up moral responsibility for the debacle. Soon after, several leaders and some ministers tendered resignation to mount pressure on Chief Minister and MPCC chief to take similar step. MPCC spokesperson and AICC media panel member Anant Gadgil had written to Chief Minister underlining the need for holding a ‘brainstorming and introspection’ meeting to discuss failure of strategy, planning, and lack of communication during the poll campaign. Besides, he had stressed that Legislative Assembly polls were scheduled within a few months and there was little time to recover the lost ground.
Against this backdrop, Prithviraj Chavan as well as Manikrao Thakre had already started interactions with senior leaders in the State. Thakre met Rane for half-an-hour, and also talked to EGS Minister Nitin Raut.

BJP-Sena got 52% votes,
Congress-NCP only 35% In the Lok Sabha elections, BJP-Sena has heaped a humiliating defeat on the ruling Congress-NCP combine in Maharashtra by way of polling a massive 52 per cent of votes. As against this, Congress-NCP could poll only 35 per cent of votes.
Of a total 27 seats it contested, Congress could win only two -- Ashok Chavan (Nanded) and Rajiv Satav (Hingoli). Its ally NCP could win only four seats -- Supriya Sule, Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, Udayanraje Bhonsale, and Dhananjay Mandlik.
As against this, BJP contested only 24 seats but pocketed win at 23. Shiv Sena also performed splendidly by winning 18 out of 20 seats it contested. In 2009 elections of Lok Sabha, BJP had polled 18.17 per cent votes and this time its vote-share has increased impressively to 27.59 per cent. Shiv Sena’s vote-share also has improved from 17 per cent in 2009 to 21 per cent in 2014. The other constituents of BJP-led ‘Mahayuti’ namely Swabhimani Paksha, RPI (Athawale), and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha bagged three per cent votes. However, these constituents could win only one out of four seats they contested.
Compared to BJP-Sena, the ruling Congress-NCP alliance registered a disheartening performance. Its vote-share dwindled from 39 per cent in 2009 to 34 per cent in 2014. This factor also will figure in the discussions to be held by MPCC, keeping an eye on Legislative Assembly elections scheduled within a few months.

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