Maharashtra Assembly Election: Ahead of polls, a season of yatras

In the run-up to the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, and then sometime after they were announced, the four major parties in fray— Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Shiv Sena, Congress and its ally the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)— were busy planning 'yatras' across Maharashtra.

The point of these yatras, or rallies stretching for days and undertaken in phases, was to either highlight the work done by the government and to reach out to the people who have benefited from the government's schemes or point out the ruling coalition's inefficiencies.

For instance, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' Mahajansandesh Yatra— which kicked off on August 1 and went on for about a month— was a monumental 4,232 km long exercise stretched over 30 districts of Maharashtra to highlight Fadnavis as the development man of the state.

Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray's Jan Aashirwad Yatra, meanwhile, was aimed at thanking the people who voted for Sena during the Lok Sabha polls and to consolidate the young leader's position, both within the Sena and across Maharashtra. Sena sources said that the yatra was also a part of the party's rural push, which forms a big part of Sena's campaign this time around.

Aaditya Thackeray during the Jan Sandesh Yatra (Image: Aaditya Thackeray/Twitter)" width="1280" height="720" /> Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray during the Jan Sandesh Yatra (Image: Aaditya Thackeray/Twitter)

Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray during the Jan Sandesh Yatra (Image: Aaditya Thackeray/Twitter)

"As far as we can gauge, the rallies were successful. Aaditya is a natural orator, and he connected with the rural masses as well as he connects with the urban voters," a Sena functionary who was a part of the organising team for the yatra told Moneycontrol.

According to reports, Aaditya's roadshows were planned such that they won't clash with Fadnavis' rallies, but the Chief Minister's schedule was longer and his reach wider. Apart from the suspension of the yatra due to floods in August after floods ravaged parts of Maharashtra, Fadnavis, say BJP leaders, has covered almost all the 288 constituencies over the course of two months.

The party has also created a video on the yatra along with a theme song. According to reports, BJP leaders in different regions are now demanding region-specific videos of the yatra for their campaigning.

Devendra Fadnavis while addressing a rally during the Maha Jansandesh Yatra (Image: Devendra Fadnavis/Twitter)

Devendra Fadnavis while addressing a rally during the Maha Jansandesh Yatra (Image: Devendra Fadnavis/Twitter)

As a response to BJP and Sena, Congress-NCP also launched their respective roadshows, but leaders from both the parties admit that their yatras were low-profile as compared to the ruling coalition.

While Congress launched the 'Pol Khol Yatra' with the intention of exposing the government's claims, NCP launched the Shiv Swarajya Yatra, particularly focused in the districts of Marathwada and Vidarbha.

According to NCP leaders, the yatra— headed by actor Amol Kolhe— was the party's attempt at riling up the NCP cadre and also reaching out to its core voter base: the Marathas. According to reports, after the state government decided to grant the reservation demand of the Marathas, NCP leaders suspect that a major chunk of their core constituency might shift to the BJP, and this yatra was an attempt to ensure that that doesn't happen.

"Only results will show whether we have succeeded or not, but we did manage to encourage our cadre," an NCP leader in Mumbai said.

Congress sources said that while the party's yatra was a success, a senior leader of the party said that it could have been "bigger, better and more effective" had the party not been riddled with infighting in the region.

"There was considerable resistance to the yatra from inside the party due to differences between leaders in the region, and that somewhat hampered our efforts. But we have sent our message across," the leader said.