Bhubaneswar: Mahayuti has showcased the country the biggest political turnaround plan. Just around 6 months before, in months of May- June during the Lok Sabha polls, the Mahayuti had a very bad turn of events. The Maha Vikas Aghadi chiseled the NDA to a size of mere 18 Parliament seats, of the total 48. Political pundits have declared Maharashtra a done deal.

But showing the marathoner ability, the strategists of Mahayuti worked out a contingency plan to win back. The results testify the success of their turnaround plan. Here is a comparison of 2024 Parliamentary elections and Assembly elections.

ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS

A glance at the above comparative table brings to fore the following.

• BJP’s vote share in Assembly polls increases marginally
• But BJP has lost a large number of seats to Congress despite securing as much vote share as it has garnered now.
• The reason is vote consolidation behind the Mahayuti this time.
• Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) had a little drop in vote share but almost the same in LS. The success here is it had grabbed more seats vis-à-vis the LS poll.
• The same has been the case with Ajit Pawar led NCP.
• Between May 2024 and Novemeber 2024. Maha Vikas Aghadi has been cut to size.
• Congress vote share dropped by a massive 5%.
• NCP led by Sharad Pawar vote share didn’t drop but up by 1%,, however it has lost many seats this time around.
• Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena also faced a waterloo.
• The party lost a massive nearly 7% vote share. For which it could win only 20 seats.

WHAT CHANGED THE GAME?

Here are the 5 GAME CHANGERS that scripted a big turnaround plan for Mahayuti within a small timeframe of 6-months.

• The Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana that provisioned Rs 1,500 per month to women aged 21 to 65 with an annual family income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh has been the game changer number 1.
• Along with ladli Behna, another notable scheme was  'Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana', which aimed at helping families cope with rising inflation. The scheme provisioned three free LPG cylinders per year. 
• To promote education for girls, the government has introduced a plan that will ensure that no girl in Maharashtra will have to pay fees up until she graduates from college.

LADLE KISAN

Another big scheme launched titled ‘Mukhyamantri Baliraja Bijli Savalat Yojana’. The scheme ensured that farmers will no longer have to pay for electricity used to power their water pumps. 

• As per the Maharashtra Agriculture Department, as of March 2024 end, Maharashtra had 4.741 million (over 47 lakh) agricultural pump customers. Total farmers in Maharashtra are at 13.6 mn (130 lakh). The scheme had taken care of around 36% farmers in the State.

LADLE LADKE

In order to address the unemployment problem that had been a big issue in the Lok Sabha polls, the Maharashtra government has introduced Mukhyamantri Yuva Karya Prashikshan Yojana.

• This scheme offers internship opportunities designed to enhance skills and employability for individuals aged 18 to 35.
• The scheme targets training programs for approximately 10 lakh candidates per year.  
• The program provides stipends based on educational qualifications:
• Rs 6,000 for 12th pass, ‘
• Rs 8,000 for ITI /Diploma holders
• Rs10,000 for degree/postgraduate candidates.

TOLL ROLLOUT FOR POLL

After addressing the twinissues of Lok Sabha polls – inflation and youth unemployment, in a significant move, the government introduced a complete toll waiver for light motor vehicles entering Mumbai from Oct 14.  

• The toll waiver applied at five key toll booths: Dahisar, LBS Road-Mulund, Eastern Express Highway-Mulund, Airoli Creek Bridge, and Vashi.
• The toll waiver benefited nearly 4.8 lakh light motor vehicles crossing into Mumbai daily.
• CM had then said this initiative aims at hassle free travel by saving time, reduce fuel costs, and lower pollution levels.

BOTTOMLINE

The bottomline of this political turnaround plan has been that voters have turned wiser. BJP won big in 2019 on account of large beneficiaries (labharthis). But the benefits doled out by Modi govt in 2019 had a fewer returns to voters in 2024 on account of rising cost of living and growing joblessness. With hands at the pulse of people, the Mahayuti had pressed the ‘SCHEME’ button for across the sections of the voters to script a successful turnaround plan.

All state governments have to take note from the Maharashtra election results.

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