A report by a Marathi weekly, which is seen to be very close to the RSS, said that the BJP's electoral coalition with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP totally changed the public mood against the saffron party, leading to serious electoral loss in Maharashtra's recent Lok Sabha election.
The weekly 'Vivek', an RSS-affiliated publication, conducted a vox populi survey of over 200 persons across Mumbai, Konkan, and western Maharashtra to understand why BJP is losing elections in the state which sends the second highest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha.
It added that some members of the BJP also expressed shock over the party's decision to ally with the Nationalist Congress Party that is now part of the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state from July 2023.
In this light, according to the report, the discontent of the party members was "merely the tip of the iceberg," pointing toward deep dissatisfactions within the BJP.
The BJP seat tally in Maharashtra, its ally Shiv Sena with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reduced to nine from 23 in 2019, while the NCP under deputy CM Ajit Pawar won one constituency in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.
As against this, constituents of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi—Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress—performed strong, winning together 30 of the total 48 seats.
The report brought out the dismay of BJP members and sympathizers over the alliance with the NCP and a sense of deviation from the core values enshrined in the party's foundation.
"Almost everyone from the BJP or Sangh Parivar affiliate organisations condemned BJP's alliance with NCP Ajit Pawar-led".
"Before writing this article, we met more than 200 industrialists, traders, doctors, professors, and teachers. The anger amongst party cadres over the BJP's alliance with the NCP is the tip of the iceberg," the report observed.
Apprehensions were raised in the report over what the BJP's future strategy would be in view of the negative political fall-out of the alliance.
The alliance of the BJP with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra is traditionally seen as a natural alliance, more so because of the Hindutva ideology, but it was troubled and criticized.
The alliance was put to test when in June 2022, former MVA minister Eknath Shinde revolted against then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and the government collapsed. At first, even BJP was found supporting Shinde, and with the support of BJP MLAs, he formed a new government and took charge as State Chief Minister.
The political situation changed one year down the line when Ajit Pawar, opposition leader, claimed the support of his party MLAs and workers, and he joined the Shinde-led government as deputy chief minister. This was against his uncle's and NCP founder Sharad Pawar's wish; hence, it stood endorsed with favorable decisions at both the Election Commission of India and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
However, the criticism mounted against the BJP for such alliance with the NCP, moving away from its traditional partnerships, raising questions about the party's future direction as this move defied all of its past strategies.
"However, sentiments turned completely against the party after it allied with the NCP. This also raises questions about the party's future plans when the political calculations turned against it due to NCP," said the report of a Marathi weekly.
It was mentioned in the article how the BJP has reached a habit of inducting leaders from other parties and overlooking the regular process of developing talent within its ranks.
Noted personalities such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Gopinath Munde, and Pramod Mahajan, current leaders like Nitin Gadkari and Devendra Fadnavis, were also brought to the fore as examples of leaders who rose through the ranks from grassroots party work—a tradition overlooked of late.
It also emphasizes the need for internal party coordination and empowerment of party workers in decision-making processes, which have been seen to be very important contributors to BJP success in Madhya Pradesh, where the party swept all the 29 Lok Sabha seats.
It also talks about how the issues of the Ram temple and the sacrifices of RSS and BJP workers during the 1975-77 Emergency failed to get sufficient resonance.
"There is no denying the sacrifices of party workers during the Emergency period and for the Ram temple movement. But how much does this strike a chord with educated people below the age of 45 in so far as voting is concerned? Even if one is a supporter of Hindutva, one may not identify with happenings of three to four decades ago," the article said.
The June 4 declaration of the Lok Sabha election results has led an RSS-affiliated magazine, the 'Organiser', to caution that the verdict is a "reality check" for overconfident BJP workers and leaders insulated in their "bubble" and enjoying the aura of Prime Minister Narendra Modi without heeding public sentiment.
It said that the 'Organiser' article warned the BJP against complacency and exhorted it to reach out to people at the grassroots level, flagging a disconnect between party leaders and public sentiment on the ground.
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