BJP gains the most as crisis dents MVA and limits Shinde

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the biggest gainer from Sunday's developments that saw Ajit Pawar and a raft of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders join the Maharashtra government.

- Surendra P Gangan

In one move, the BJP has weakened the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), gained the upper hand over its ally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena (and also chief minister Shinde himself), and improved its prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state.

The similarities between Sunday's events and last year's, when the BJP managed to effect a split in the Sena are clear. Yet, there is one big difference. The split in the Sena did not really seem to weaken the MVA, and the BJP's Mission 45, under which it targeted winning 45 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, appeared out of reach. But with questions being asked about the future of the Sharad Pawar-led remnant of the NCP, the MVA is now weaker (as the work-in-progress national opposition grouping-in-the-making). A weaker MVA is expected to improve the BJP's prospects in certain parts of Maharashtra.