The minor didn't take his cellphone or wallet, assuming he'd return quickly
Avictorious BJP on Friday demanded the resignation of Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and called for snap polls in the state.
The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combine, which has been ruling the state since 1999, was routed in the parliamentary elections. The Congress won just one seat (Nanded), and the NCP managed to win just four seats.
The BJP-Shiv Sena astounded analysts and pollsters by winning 42 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, which sends the second-largest contingent of MPs to parliament after Uttar Pradesh (at 80). The BJP has won 23 seats.
Elections to the Maharashtra assembly are due in October, but the BJP has now demanded early elections in the state in view of its stunning victory in the state.
The BJP’s amazing performance in Maharashtra will also give it an upper hand in the assembly elections, as it would seek more seats from junior partner Shiv Sena in the state elections. Maharashtra has 288 assembly seats, and traditionally the Sena contests more seats than the BJP.
However, this time the BJP will be in a bargaining position, as it is for the first time it will be negotiating from a position of strength. Besides the absolutely majority in the Lok Sabha, it also has the option of opting for an alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Prithviraj Chavan, who was a minister in the Manmohan Singh council of ministers, was shifted as chief minister of Maharashtra in 2010, after the Congress decided to sack Ashok Chavan following his involvement in the Adarsh housing scam.
The chief minister, who never had a base in state politics, struggled to win support from regional satraps, especially in western Maharashtra. Relations between him and the NCP worsened in recent months, though the two parties stuck to the alliance.
Many NCP leaders have grumbled that Chavan sat over files and did not clear their proposals. The NCP has been blaming the chief minister for the ‘non-performance’ of the Maharashtra government.
Chavan is also not a mass leader – unlike former chief minister, the late Vilasrao Deshmukh – and the Congress felt handicapped while taking on the BJP in the recent elections.
In fact, one reason why the Congress decided to brazen it out by giving a ticket to the controversial Ashok Chavan from Nanded was the fact that he is the only leader in the state who was seen capable of taking on both the NCP and the BJP-Sena.
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