Where BJP’s Moditva lost to NCP’s soft Hindutva

Moditva may have worked its magic in Gujarat, but the victory of Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress alliance in the drought-prone Bhokardan taluka of central Maharashtra has revived the ruling front’s hopes of returning to power in the next Assembly elections. Even the Sena was scathing in its criticism. ‘‘The gentlemen who were trying to repeat the Modi experiment in Maharashtra should go to Bhokardan and see how they fell flat,’’ said the Saamna on Monday.

Amma in firm control

Advantage Mayawati

Shot-in-the-arm for Gogoi

JD squabbled, Cong won

Vote of confidence for PDP

For the Congress and the NCP, the message is loud and clear: stick together or perish. ‘‘This is an indication of what will happen in the next Assembly elections if the Congress and NCP stick together. The Modi pattern will be a flop show in Maharashtra if secular forces stay united,’’ claimed Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal. Never mind that Bhujbal is a former Shiv Sainik. And never mind that Pawar has not clarified his present opinion about Sonia, who he once said he would never accept as PM.

The BJP was convinced that it could retain the Bhokardan seat on the basis of the anti-incumbency sentiment, coated with hardline Hindutva. And to retain the seat which has been its fiefdom since 1990, buoyant BJP leaders took a leaf out of Narendra Modi’s book and campaigned in his aggressive style. However, the NCP, with its combination of soft Hindutva and some adroit political manoeuvring, emerged the winner. In an inspired move, the NCP fielded a former BJP-RSS man and worked out an alignment with the Congress and the Republican Party of India. And to neutralise the Gujarat effect, the campaign focussed on the clean image and the RSS background of the candidate, Chandrakant Danve. The result: a surprise victory by over 16,000 votes. While soft Hindutva may not be the overriding factor, a strong NCP-Congress alliance is a winning combination. But while they believe that the alliance can save them, Congress workers are equally apprehensive about Pawar taking control.