Maharashtra restores Modi's primacy

The important message is that the Modi brand shines as brightly as it did before the somewhat lukewarm outcome in the Lok Sabha poll

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Paisa Bolta Hai. Yes, it does. Ask Mahayuti. They didn't expect such an overwhelming landslide. Nobody did. Even the exit polls predicted a tough contest with a slight edge for the MVA. Yet, the EVMs last Saturday, November 23, settled the issue. "Ladki Bahins" sent a big thank you to Messrs Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. The Lok Sabha outcome forced the trio to do their electoral sums again. The upshot was the monthly payment of Rs 1,500 in the bank accounts of every woman between the age of 18 and 60 in Maharashtra. Of over 4.7 crore women voters, nearly 66% voted in the Assembly poll, 6% more than in the recent Lok Sabha poll. Considering that the difference in the vote percentage of the rival alliances in the Lok Sabha poll was negligible, though MVA had won more seats than the Mahayuti, the tide turned in favour of the ruling alliance thanks to the women voters. Therefore, MVA should stop faulting low-voltage EVMs or the Election Commission for delaying the poll by a few weeks. They come across as sore losers. For now, the Shinde Sena and the Ajit NCP have effectively settled the issue. It is for Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, or rather his mentor Sanjay Raut, to mull over the big blow Maharashtra voter has delivered most convincingly. Mahayuti was not humiliated by the voter in the Lok Sabha poll. On the other hand, if the Assembly election signifies anything, it signifies the collective humiliation of the MVA, puncturing the bloated egos of its leaders. They can also blame the BJP dog-whistle slogans like "Batenge toh katenge" and "Ek hain toh safe hain", though the Shinde government had not ignored the problems of the soyabean and cotton farmers either, nor had it ignored