The Maharashtra assembly elections campaign is currently at its highest point. This time in the state, the electoral competition is exclusively between Mahayuti and Mahavikas Aghadi. Mahayuti holds the majority, with Mahavikas Aghadi being the minority party. This election campaign poses a greater challenge for Congress than for other parties this time around. It is believed that Congress is encountering more challenges this time than in the past. Of these, 7 things are easily seen.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and national president of the party Mallikarjun Kharge are leading the election campaign for Congress in the assembly elections, yet the number of rallies held is not as extensive as that of the Mahayuti. Additionally, the party is unclear on certain issues. Similar to the matter of the constitution. There is a belief that the party’s confidence in this issue has decreased for the assembly elections compared to the Lok Sabha elections.
To begin with, it is evident that Congress is experiencing a shortage of Maratha leadership in Maharashtra. Following the passing of Vilas Rao Deshmukh, Ashok Rao quit Congress and switched to the BJP. Currently, there is no Maratha leader in Congress who can be considered the leader of the entire state of Maharashtra. Prithviraj Chavan and Bal Saheb Thorat are Maratha leaders, confined to their respective region.
Likewise, Congress faces a significant absence of Dalit leadership. Following the resignation of ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Congress is also lacking in Dalit leadership. Nitin Raut was appointed as a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to support Dalit leadership, however, his influence is limited to certain areas in Maharashtra.
The Congress’s third concern is the Ladli Behan Yojana by the Shinde government, which provides women in the state with Rs 1500 every month. Despite the Mahavikas Aghadi’s commitment to provide Rs 3000 if they come to power, it is the Mahayuti government that has begun distributing the money. In this scenario, the party fears that Mahayuti could exploit the scheme that is currently providing advantages.
The constitution problem of Rahul Gandhi is the fourth major issue that Congress is dealing with in Maharashtra. In the Lok Sabha elections, Dalits showed a strong interest in the constitution matter, which also favored the opposition India Alliance. However, Congress is concerned about whether this issue will have the same impact in the upcoming assembly elections. As the topic of changing the constitution surfaces in Parliament, the question remains: will it be effective in the assembly?
During the Maharashtra elections, the Mahayuti leaders are actively campaigning, while the Congress in the Mahavikas Aghadi has done very little so far. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have not conducted as many rallies as they were supposed to. Meanwhile, rallies are being held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and UP CM Yogi Adityanath in support of the BJP.
There is a belief that Congress is worried that OBC and upper caste votes in the Maharashtra elections have shifted away from their allies compared to Lok Sabha elections. The blame is being placed on the alliance for this.
The Congress also faces the challenge of maintaining the unity of Muslim voters within its party. Owaisi is able to make statements that the Congress is unable to. Alternatively, if the BJP is perceived as being more supportive of Muslims, it could achieve success in polarizing. In addition, Mahayuti has also utilized a pro-Muslim strategy via NCP, and the Mahayuti administration has already raised the wages of madrasa teachers all at once.