A day after the results for the first two phases of the Maharashtra local body polls were announced, with the BJP-led Mahayuti coasting to another landslide win, state Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal speaks to The Indian Express about his party’s performance, its strategy and where the Opposition likely went wrong. The Congress won 28 of the 288 local bodies that went to the polls.
What is your assessment of the Congress’s performance in the local polls?
The results are inspiring. We, as a party, are optimistic about the future. We won 41 president posts and 1,006 councillor posts. It was possible because of the hard work of our workers and their belief in the party’s ideology. It underlines that the Congress has not lost its voter base and stands firm as the principal Opposition force across the state.
Also, we did not contest a fair battle. We were fighting against the money and muscle power of the Mahayuti, a partial State Election Commission (SEC), and an unethical administration that worked under the pressure of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his two deputies (Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde).
But can you hold only the administration and the SEC responsible for the results?
Have you seen the amount of money spent in these hyper-local polls? The amount Shinde spent could very well revive the economy of a poor country. The BJP is at par with him. What has the SEC done to stop this? Everyone saw the intimidation by the ruling parties to ensure unopposed elections. Did the SEC take any action? The restructuring of wards also clearly benefitted the ruling side.
Did the decision to contest alone, instead of putting up a united front under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) banner, cost the Opposition?
We did not contest alone and gave our local units the freedom to decide on the alliance. We fought alongside the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (SP) in many places. At places where we could not form an alliance, we joined forces with local parties and even farmer organisations. It would be wrong to say that we fought alone. Our local units made decisions and we did not interfere with them.
But did it damage your chances?
Our decision led to the division of votes and it helped us as well as our allies. The core of our strategy was to stop the BJP. If we saw that fielding an MVA candidate could lead to consolidation of votes for the Mahayuti, it was better to fight solo and divide those votes.
Local equations were also taken into consideration for every district. The results would have been better had there been better coordination.
How do Congress workers see the results?
It is not possible to manage everything from the centre in such localised elections. Empowering local units helped us as an organisation to develop local leadership. The workers got the respect that they deserved and also much-needed confidence.
What is your plan for the municipal corporation polls? Can the Congress and the Opposition turn things around in time for next month’s polls?
This election has taught us a lot of things, such as tackling the centralisation of authority and abuse of money and power. As the municipal corporation polls are ward-wise and not held to elect a mayor, we will be better prepared.
However, core ideas such as stopping the BJP will remain constant. Local units will again be given authority to decide what is beneficial and whether or not to have an alliance. The honest and dedicated workers of the party are our strength.
*Why is it that the party is going solo in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls and not allying with Shiv Sena (UBT)?
The decision was taken based on feedback from workers. Mumbai’s decision is based on the inputs of local workers and leaders. Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad has already spoken on this. As far as the rest of the state is concerned, we are not saying that we will go alone. We are saying that our local units will take the decision on alliance.