“Devendra Sarita Gangadharrao Fadnavis”, the 54-year-old politician told his name as he took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Adding the father’s name is in common practice in Maharashtra, but Devendra Fadnavis chose his mother’s name as well to add to his name.
His deputy followed him as he declared his name as Eknath Gangubai Sambhaji Shinde. Gangubai is his mother’sname.
Was it symbolic or much more than that?
Women Play Trump Card
An analysis of Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 shows how the women and subalterns dominated the polls and impacted its results. Out of 9.7 crore population of Maharashtra, 4.7 crore are women.
They not only participated in the polling in a big way but a larger chunk of this group voted for the ruling coalition Mahayuti, as is evident by the results. Ladki Bahin Yojana, launched by the Maharashtra government when Eknath Shinde was the Chief Minister of the state, proved to be a game-changer.
Ladki Bahin Yojana Becomes Game-Changer
The Shiv Sena promised to increase the money to be given under this scheme from Rs 1,500 to Rs. 2,100. The state will have to take the burden of Rs 63,000 crore under this scheme, but Shiv Sena decided to go ahead with the hike and went home romping after the election results were declared.
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Similarly, the oath-taking ceremony broke the tradition in many ways, something that may reverberate in future elections also.
Oath-Taking Ceremony Breaks Tradition
It was not conventionally held in Raj Bhawan, in the presence of a small crowd of politicians, including those from the opposition. A huge crowd of 40,000 people attended the oath-taking ceremony in the Azad Maidan.
Subalterns Flock Swearing In Ceremony
Thousands of people, drawn from all walks of life were invited to watch the event. Most of them were common people, many of them subalterns. Grass-root party workers, local-level leaders, students, workers, and petty government servants, all attended the ceremony.
The swearing-in ceremony was also attended by the glitterati, film stars like Shah Rukh Khan, the God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar, business tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani and many more people, who made it memorable. But they numbered just around 2,000. The subalterns made the rest of the crowd.
Subalterns Back Shiv Sena
The impact of the subalterns can also be felt by the fact that the suave, educated, high-brow Uddhav Thackeray and his fellow leaders failed to appeal to the voters of the united Shiv Sena. The traditional Shiv Sena supporters, comprising mostly of the subalterns, chose the party of Eknath Shinde, who had a humble beginning.
Hailing from ‘Dare Tamb’ village in Mahabaleshwar taluka of Satara district, Shinde studied until class XI at Mangala High School and Junior College in Thane. He left school to support his family financially and worked as an auto-rickshaw driver before joining politics. Most of his comrades have similar backgrounds.
Sharad Pawar Vs Eknath Shinde
While established leaders like former Chief Minister Sharad Pawar failed to feel the pulse of the people correctly, his nephew Ajit Pawar, who remained in his shadow for almost most of his political career, clicked successfully.
Sharad Pawar’s failure also shows how the political equation has changed now in Maharashtra and how its political dynamics too has shifted.
Consolidation Of Subalterns
The assembly election results also show that there has been a consolidation of subalterns. Political observers believe, there has been a consolidation of non-Marathas to stop the Marathas, the community that has ruled the state from the beginning and continues to dominate the political space.
The OBC communities, Dalits and other marginalized segments of the society came out to stop the dominating caste.
Maratha Juggernaut Fails
After the police cracked down upon the protesters demanding reservation for the Maratha community at Antarwali-Saraati village of Jalna district in the Marathwada region last year, the stir went out of control and spread across the state. Soon after the police arrested quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, he became an icon of the Maratha reservation movement.
Manoj Jarange-Patil pulled out of the election in the nick of time. However, he announced, “Parties will have to promise Maratha quota. If they don’t before voting day, we won’t let them come to power.”
However, the movement proved to be counter-productive and there was a consolidation of the people belonging to the subalterns.
The subalterns have made their presence felt, their voices have echoed and reverberated across the state and they have come to stay. So have the women.
