This is a 3-part series of post election thoughts. At the India, Maharashtra and Pune level. You can find the remaining parts here.
The verdict : The MNS is here.
Love it or hate it, it is here to stay. We all knew this, the elections just confirmed it.
The positives being Raj Thackeray has an opportunity here to go further right or towards the center. I have said earlier and will say it again. He is the best leader we have in Maharashtra. The others look like a bunch of baboons in front of his oratory and political skills.
But I really hope he is constructive in his approach to not scare away voters, and needs to push this message across to the voter. A glorious career then awaits him.
On the negative side, the people of Maharashtra will not be getting a non-Congress/NCP government for a quite some time. The arrival of the MNS pushed this further by a decade or two.
The Shiv Sena is going down. Bal Thackeray has a few days to meet the riot victims while Uddhav Thackeray isn’t helping the cause. Once the MNS leaves a large enough footprint in Maharashtra, do not be surprised if the BJP tries to woo it. If I read Raj Thackeray correctly, he would know his best chance is in being alone.
As for the Congress/NCP in Maharashtra, their gameplan is similar. Do not shoot yourself in the foot. The others will do the rest. This tenet should hold good for them for now. The upcoming assembly elections would confirm this, I am sure.
Strangely, apart from Sharad Pawar, who has graduated on to national politics, there isn’t a single leader with the charisma and appeal that is noteworthy. This is bad news for Maharashtra. So for citizens of Maharashtra, it might take longer than expected to get a government that actually works, a non-Congress/NCP government that is.
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May 18, 2009 at 8:58 pm
alltalkandnoaction
MNS functions on a baseless Foundation.
Good for rhetorics…but useless otherwise.
Apply MNS’s thinking to the US – What if tomorrow, US were to say – Go back Indians, Go Back Chinese, go back all you Migrants! It’s coz of you that aamcha Americans can’t find jobs.
Turning protectionist isn’t the key here.
Also, oratory skills aren’t enough. From my understanding Raj isn’t as aware of the hinterlands as he should be. Uddhav on the other hand is far more rooted and connected with the rural masses.
Hopefully, people of Mumbai and Maharashtra realize this soon enough.
May 18, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Deepak Iyer
@alltalkandnoaction : See while Uddhav addresses the issues of the rural and urban populace, it can be attributed to the fact that the Shiv Sena has a deeper presence in Mahrashtra. Raj T has loads of experience from being in the Sena and travelling all over Maharashtra. But him not addressing the rural masses at this point is because he is starting to build a support base, which can be done better in the urban areas; the same idea that the SS used in the 80′s. Once he has some presence, don’t be surprised if he ventures into the rural areas too. Either way, he would have a better understanding of everything compared to Uddhav, I am quite sure about that.
That said, I agree with you over his ideology thing. Even if he is doing it just to be noticed, his supporters will take that as their bible, which is dangerous.
Btw, I appreciate the debate you started. Keep visiting.