The ‘Maha’ polls saga

Come October 15^th, my home state of Maharashtra is slated for electing the state legislature. An exercise which happens every 5 years and has ended electing the same coalition for the last 15 years; Congress and Nationalist Congress Party. Considered to be alliance aimed to be the messiah against non-secular forces of the 25 year old BJP-Shiv Sena mega alliance and MNS, the recent governments have been marred by incidents of super corruption, lawless-ness and bad governance. But still it has managed majority for the last 15 years.

But things are looking massively different this time around. The first and the most significant difference is there is just one coalition: BJP and two small parties. The rest all are going independent and contesting the 288 on their own. Biggest problem is no one has done it for 15 or 25 years and all of a sudden, it has become a task to even identify candidates. Consequently there is also heavy rebel activity for anyone who has any kind of displeasure from their existing party. No ticket, No party support- No Problem; just switch loyalties.

Now for election agenda- both Congress and NCP are trying to hog the limelight for the achievements and push the negatives on the other partner. The similarity is so much so that even the election campaign ads are having almost the same treatment and storylines. Congress has Prithviraj Chavan talking development walking in a park and NCP has Ajit Pawar sitting on a chain in a garden and talking development. Bottom line- they seem to have almost nothing to offer this time.

In contrast, the BJP and Shiv Sena are both harping on all the negatives and scams that have come up over the last 15 years. The difference, BJP is trying to ride on the ripples of the Modi wave and the Sena is trying to pose its leader Uddhav Thakre and Aditya Thakre as a mood of youth and fresh air. The MNS is also talking the same language.

As a voter, even after all my education and interests in politics, I am actually confused as all ads and campaigning is sounding the same. All everyone has on the platter is tall claims.

Just yesterday, I was hit by a new campaign by Shiv Sena, which in business terms we define as a game changer by virtue of its competitive advantage. A majority of the Sena cadre is youth from middle and lower middle class families that is seeking redemption from social stress. In many ways, the Sena has wielded its power towards a cause aimed at better life for them. Say for their flagship Zunka-Bhakar scheme or the Shiv wada-pav which offered both a place in the society as well as livelihood for their workers.

But that apart, Sena has also championed social causes through its ground force by means of blood donation drives and job fairs from time to time. This has been used to its advantage in its election communication. A realistic scenario: a bomb blast in a city with hospitals flooding with the injured. A set of volunteers bring in the people and the doctor asks the support staff for blood. The volunteer steps in, “Look after the injured, we’ll get u the blood…” When asked who they are, the volunteers in unanimity answer, “We are Shiv Sena”. Another ad is having the volunteer guide an old lady through a crowded signal by holding the traffic as a respect to the elders- the message is still the same.

It may be small, but the message is different and is impactful. Can it translate into a maha- vote for the Sena is something still to be seen in the next two weeks.