Nashik: It was in Dhule that PM Narendra Modi gave the campaign slogan, “Ek hai toh safe hai (if we are united, we are safe)”. It proved to be a game-changer, consolidating traditional Mahayuti voters.
This, along with a silent outreach to majority voters and a multi-layered strategy to woo back onion farmers helped Mahayuti reclaim its sway in North Maharashtra after the Lok Sabha setback less than six months ago. The move to implement Nilwande dam project — which was pending for over five decades — in Ahilyanagar, and announcement of river linking projects like Nar-Par gave added impetus to the saffron campaign.
Mahayuti won a stunning 44 of 47 assembly seats spread across Nashik, Dhule, Ahilyanagar, Jalgaon and Nandurbar districts. The ruling alliance won all 11 seats in Jalgaon, all five in Dhule, 14 of 15 seats in Nashik, 11 of 12 in Ahilyanagar, and three of the four Nandurbar seats. MVA’s Congress won Shrirampur (Ahilyanagar) and Navapur (Nandurbar) seats, and AIMIM retained Nashik’s Malegaon Central seat.
After the LS setback, three senior Mahayuti politicians from North Maharashtra — BJP’s Girish Mahajan and Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Shiv Sena’s Dada Bhuse — worked silently to rejuvenate the rank and file. While Patil concentrated on Ahilyanagar, Mahajan and Bhuse worked in Jalgaon, Dhule and Nashik. “Three of them coordinated perfectly. They were in touch with local units to get proper feedback,” said a BJP functionary.
To address resentment among onion growers in Nashik and Ahilyanagar, Centre lifted the minimum export price (MEP) on onion and reduced export duty from 40% to 20%. This helped farmers fetch attractive prices.
“There was also a quiet campaign among Mahayuti’s traditional voters. They were reminded how voters in Malegaon Central cast their ballots en bloc for Congress during LS polls. This hush-hush campaign helped,” said a Jalgaon-based BJP functionary.