The formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra was political magic. It would have been more magical had the Uddhav Thackeray-led government survived the existential threat it had been facing all along.
But that was not to be.
The nation is accustomed to witnessing not magic but a dull repeated drama when it comes to politics these days.
A drama in which the BJP somehow manages to be in power in states where it wins elections and in states where it fails to make the cut, too.
Shiv Sena's severing of its long-term ties with the BJP and joining hands with the NCP and the Congress was unthinkable until November 2019. Many wondered how could the Congress join a hardcore Hindutva and regional conservative party like the Shiv Sena to grab a share of power.
The Congress' defence was that its priority was to keep the BJP out of power in a crucial state like Maharashtra. That sounded logical.
Uddhav's Shiv Sena also helped, as within the Maha Vikas Aghadi, it looked entirely different from what Bal Thackeray had nurtured it to be.
In the past two and a half years it was in power, the Sena looked and sounded too secular and a perfect ally of the anti-BJP camp.
Now, the internal revolt triggered by Eknath Shinde and apparently sponsored by the BJP has shattered all that build-up.
In the climax of the latest Maha drama, Uddhav and Son's Sena is the defeated army while Shinde has emerged a hero who flaunts the real Sena's Hindutva and Maharashtra pride.
BJP is all smiles behind the curtain while Sharad Pawar, another key player could be manoeuvring the next move.
Meanwhile, the Congress, whose fortunes have been on a downhill all over the state since the Modi wave of 2014, looks a confused clown even though the fault was not on its side this time.
From a sheer pragmatic perspective, grabbing a share of power in Maharashtra was a smart move by the Congress as it has only two states in its account since 2018 – Rajasthan and Chattisgarh.
In Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, it is only a minor ally in the ruling fronts.
Hence, it would have been a mistake if it chose to stay away from power and play the idealistic opposition for another five years, with no sign of its revival either at the national or state level.
The 2019 fortune came calling it after five years of BJP-Shiv Sena rule.
Being in power in a state like Maharashtra, even as a minor partner, is important for any political party for another reason.
It's the richest state and its capital Mumbai is also the commercial capital of the country. Ruling that state means keeping the channels of your cash inflow open – a necessary ingrediant for a political party to survive.
It's no secret that the Congress' coffers have been draining. Its finances have been dwindling in direct proportion to the electoral routes it has been suffering in states one after the other.
The power in Maharashtra was, hence, much more than what it could afford in such a situation. An ideological compromise or tweak was justified in this struggle for survival. But now, with the fall of the Aghadi, whatever little fund flow it has had in the rich land is set to go dry. To the Congress, the Maharashtra fall is not only political or ideological, but also economic.
"It's true that the fall of the government will affect the Congress badly in terms of its funds. The funds it manages to raise from a big and rich state like Maharashtra was used to run the party in some other states also," a source close to the Congress central leadership told Onmanorama.
The Congress which ruled Maharashtra 12 out of 14 times is only a fourth force in the state now after BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP. "It's a fact that the Sena and NCP have been eating up the Congress space of late. If an election happens now, the party is likely to remain at the fourth spot, but at a more distance from the third one," the source said.
Already buffeted by leadership crisis, ideological dilemma and organisational fatigue, the Maharashtra fall has landed a body blow to the Congress with the unexpected cash cut. Party units across the country may feel its repercussions. In short, Uddhav has lost his face, Pawar his clout, and Congress another state.
