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TOI : PUNE: “The recent assembly elections have changed the political equations in the state,” said Suhas Palshikar, political analyst and professor at the political science and administration department of the University of Pune, on Monday.

The general perception was that the urban areas are represented by Shiv Sena- BJP alliance and villages by Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). But this scenario has changed as the Congress NCP won significant seats in urban areas this election, he added.

Palshikar was speaking at the state-level seminar on post-assembly election analysis organised by Department of Political Science of Fergusson College. He said, “The Shiv Sena-BJP paid a heavy price for internal clashes, which is a new thing for the alliance. For Congress-NCP, infighting is not new hence the party leaders and their candidates could control the potential damage. The opposition, on the other hand, never worked united in the last ten years and hence paid the price.”

“Of the 94 urban assembly seats, Congress-NCP has bagged 38 seats, followed by saffron parties with 33 seats. In rural areas, out of 112 assembly seats, Congress-NCP candidates won 72 seats, followed by Sena BJP on just over 34 seats. Same is the picture with remaining constituencies where both the Congress factions have succeeded to win more seats. These figures clearly underline the foray of Congress into urban areas whereas it has lost its base in some rural areas,” Palshikar said.

He also commented over various communities which were earlier associated with specific parties as a loyal vote bank. “Maratha community considered as strong base of Congress is today almost equally divided into Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena and BJP. Except Muslim community, Maratha, OBC and Dalit communities have supported all the parties. The Muslim community is still supporting to Congress largely, but compared to the total voters in the state, the community is not strong enough at the state-level to have an impact…More