MUMBAI: The resounding victory of Mamata Banerjee in the West Bengal elections has consolidated and strengthened the position of Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra.
Before the West Bengal polls, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar had warned that Thackeray government would be toppled in the next three months.
Not just Mungantiwar, most of the top leaders of the BJP were confident that once the BJP wins West Bengal, the morale of the Maha Vikas Aghadi would be down.
“Anticipating that the post-poll moral of the BJP would be high, its leaders planned to resume Operation Lotus to destabilise the state government,” said a senior NCP leader.
“The Bengal verdict has not only strengthened our position as a government but also added vigour to the opposition against the BJP. We are more than happy with the result of this election. Mamata was able to stop the juggernaut of the BJP and show that the Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are not invincible. This is a big morale booster,” NCP minister Nawab Malik said.
Within the Maha Vikas Aghadi, all three alliance partners - the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena - hailed the victory of Mamata. Shiv Sena issued the statement saying the Tigress of Bengal has won while NCP chief Sharad Pawar called it a stupendous victory.
Though the Congress was completely wiped out in Bengal, its leaders in Maharashtra chose to revel in Mamata’s victory.
Congress minister Balasaheb Thorat said the BJP was working for a long time to defeat the Trinamool Congress.
“The BJP used all tricks in the book, including the Elections Commission to defeat Mamata, but miserably failed. In the South, the DMK has won, so the Opposition voice will be stronger in the coming days,” Thorat said. Nawab Malik said that the major takeaway from the West Bengal elections is if your fight with determination, “we can defeat them.”
“Politics is the game of perception. In West Bengal, the perception has gone against the BJP and in favour of the Opposition. If all Opposition parties unite, then they can give a good fight,” said a political observer.