Maharashtra: Sharad Pawar’s post-poll role makes him formidable, says Suhas Palshikar

PUNE: Political analyst Suhas Palshikar on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is targeting Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar because he perceives Pawar’s ability to stitch together a post-poll alliance.
Pawar’s relations with regional parties in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the possibility of him cobbling together a coalition makes him a bigger threat than any other leader.Palshikar said MNS chief Raj Thackeray will have little impact on the elections.

“If Modi is targeting Pawar, he thinks that only Pawar is big enough a leader in Maharashtra in the entire opposition. Secondly, since Karnataka elections, Pawar has been playing a role in the polls in the other states. This has established him as a figure to reckon with outside Maharashtra too which is a feat not achieved by any regional party. Hence, Modi thinks Pawar is a bigger challenge,” Palshikar said at a news conference in Pune.
The BJP’s poll campaign is based on development, nationalism and Hindutva. “Vikas was their agenda before 2014 elections. But statistics show otherwise. BJP leaders cannot completely ignore ‘vikas’ during campaigns so they have shifted the narrative from how much development has happened to how much development can happen if BJP comes back to power,” he said.
Palshikar said on April 1, it seemed the results would favour the BJP. “A fortnight later, the tempo has slowed down. It will be a tough fight and no single party will get the majority,” he added.
“Nationalism and Hindutva are the BJP’s main agendas. Instead of talking about security aspects, the BJP is saying it alone can provide security. Since nationalism is an emotional issue, the BJP is playing it up. Their Hindutva card gets votes in Rajasthan, UP and MP.”
The BJP is trying to make sure that it does not lose any seats in the West and North while trying to get the maximum seats in the East and South. Palshikar said that the Congress not indulging in a pre-poll alliance is tactical.
“If the BJP gets less than 200 seats, there are chances of the Congress forming an alliance and the government at the Centre. The party will want its candidate as Prime Minister without upsetting the alliance partners,” Palshikar said.
The mass perception of Modi as honest will not let the Rafale deal affect his image. Palshikar has predicted a loss of seats for the Shiv Sena. “The BJP will lose some votes which means the Shiv Sena will also lose some. They should have used the years to consolidate their votes,” he said.
The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, Palshikar said, would eat into the NCP and Congress votes. “Their ploy is to test their strength which can be used for the assembly elections. Nobody will get a majority and a coalition is likely,” he added.