MUMBAI: The BJP’s historic performance in the Maharashtra Assembly elections is thanks to a combination of Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s charishma and the team work of the party’s state leaders. The party has registered its highest-ever tally of 122 seats, almost three times of its 2009 tally of 46.
State BJP president Devendra Fadnavis and senior leader Vinod Tawde had taken the responsibility of planning the party’s strategy in this election. They had focused on five points –corruption, the deteriorating law and order situation,inflation, non-governance and policy paralysisin – in the campaign.
While Fadnavis drew the roadmap for strengthening the organisational network, Tawde ensured that the party took an aggressive stand against the Congress and the NCP in public.
They both played an important role in convincing the party’s central leadership that breaking the 27-year-old alliance with the Shiv Sena would work in the party’s favour. Fadnavis had better coordination with the party’s central leadership in running the campaign.
Tawde said that managing the election was a learning experience for him.
“Most of the times our meetings to chalk out the strategy would go up to 2 am. We all were physically tired but did not allow that to affect our morale,” he said.
Tawde, who addressed 68 campaign rallies all over the state, refused to give credit to any individual for the party’s victory.
“We missed the valuable guidance by [the late Gopinath] Mundeji. We all worked as a team to fulfil his dream. And of course, Modiji’s wave was there,” he said.
A bigger task is awaiting them now. They have to get the arithmetic of the government forming right and choose the party’s ministers wisely.
“There is no doubt that the next Chief Minister will be from the BJP. We will deliver a clean and efficient government,” Fadnavis said.