Finally, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress party have managed a modest victory belying grim predictions of arithmetical chaos in the state. One can, of course, deny them the satisfaction of the ‘first past the post’ glory of victory by citing the lower percentage of votes, by showing the dismal performance of the SS-BJP as Opposition and by stating the obvious: the Godsend of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena which demolished as many as 38 seats, winning 12 out of them, thereby facilitating their victory. But as the saying goes, ‘victory is victory.’

This is the golden jubilee year of the formation of Maharashtra state. On May 1, 2010, the state will complete 50 years. None of the issues that tormented the people of the state have been addressed and if the ruling alliance continues to be as callous and disconnected from the people, then one fears, the issues could be fought on the streets.

This election is also curtain-call for some. Take for instance Sharad Pawar himself. He will be 70 this December. He has been on the political scene since 1967. He has been saying that he wants to retire. If he was sincere, perhaps he would not have accepted the ministry in the Union cabinet and could have functioned as elder statesman. But he said that he succumbed to the pressures of rank and file. Well, exactly ten years ago, when his party contested in the state as a parallel Congress (NCP) and had candidates against the Sonia-led Congress, he was working with the hope that not only would he be able to create a vertical split in the Congress Working Committee, but also would win Maharashtra almost on his own, thereby becoming a future lead party, a ‘true’ inheritor of the Congress. His hopes were dashed and when the results came, the leader with a ‘foreign origin’ had won more seats in the Maratha/Marathi state. That was a crucial year. If the Congress had performed badly, there was a distinct possibility of the NCP joining hands with the SS-BJP alliance, because only then the numbers could have provided the government. There was a BJP-led government in the Centre and Pawar had the best of relations with them. Indeed, Pramod Mahajan used to say that in Maharashtra, a radical change of alliances was likely. But Pawar’s Maratha followers, particularly in Western Maharashtra were not ready to join that game. Pawar’s efforts to create a new progressive democratic front did not lead anywhere, and he was forced to play second fiddle to the Sonia-led Congress and join the government. That is history. Ever since, Pawar has been trying to carve out a role for himself, in Maharashtra and with the help of the state support, to position himself at the Centre. So far, things have not worked out in his favour. He could not suffered a worse setback than in the Lok Sabha elections when his plans of becoming prime minister disappeared in thin air. Now, he will have to seriously think of a new role. In that sense, despite the Congress-NCP victory, his fate is almost sealed.

... contd.