Under Modi’s watch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited Maharashtra over half a dozen times in the past ten months He is set to visit Navi Mumbai next to dedicate to the people a muchdelayed Metro rail link the NerulUran line the first phase of the Surya drinking water scheme and to address a womenrsquos empowerment event for which one lakh representatives from across the state are expected in the last week of OctoberThe PM is also expected to tour Shirdi to launch various projects There was no clarity on whether his visits to Navi Mumbai and Shirdi would be on the same day or set apartRecently the PM attended the Olympic committee event in Mumbai and later he inaugurated JNPT projects online With a sharp focus on gaining as much electorally he is expected to return to the state again to launch new projects such as the first phase of the cityrsquos first underground Metro3 the Mumbai transharbour link MTHL and the last leg of the Samruddhi Mahamarg ahead of the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha electionsThe superactive BJP shows Maharashtra is very important for it because it will test the party in conditions that did not exist beforemdashfirst for the Lok Sabha and then for the Assembly elections In a way Maharashtra will again be an arena where an ace called Narendra Modi will be trying hard at his rallying skills for the third time The BJP had fallen short of expectations twice before especially in the Assembly elections The robust Modi wave of 2014 didnrsquot get the BJP a majority on its own in the state Assembly Five years later it reduced the numbers and lost power only to bounce back in a Shiv Sena coup last year But in the Lok Sabha the state had been consistent in supporting the saffron partners in 2014 and 2019 However this time around the general electionsrsquo field in the state which is the second biggest after Uttar Pradesh in terms of the MPs it sends to the lower house is expected to be different from yesteryear if the Opposition remains united and bolstered by brand INDIASharing seats will be very complicated for both the Opposition and ruling partners The BJP may already have the seatsharing formula concocted but it remains to be seen who among its two partners accepts it without hesitation It also remains to be seen who benefits from the BJPrsquos sacrifice if any For BJPrsquos partners a lot depends on the Lok Sabha results because it would indicate the direction in which the wind would be blowing ahead of the winterrsquos Assembly elections Before the Lok Sabha the next monthrsquos Assembly elections in five statesmdashthree in the Hindi belt one down south and one up northeastmdashwill keep the BJP upfront whether it wins or gets defeated Lok Sabha will be the decider States can come and go go and comeMeanwhile in Maharashtra the BJPrsquos priority seems to be reaching out to the people under Modirsquos leadership telling them about the welfare activity he has done so far and what he plans to do in the future The single largest party does not rely on the alliance partners when it comes to campaigning though its staying in power depends on partners The BJP does its job in the field diligently and thoroughly But then the Opposition has not been resting its efforts to fan an antiBJP sentiment Protests of all kindsmdashfor reservations jobs pensions and other issuesmdashhave been staged Social engineering will again be the flavour of the political season Remarkably certain parties have openly sided with specific castes and caste groups that have been supporting them traditionallyTailpiece The scrapping of outsourcing government jobs has not only hit some senior leaders in the ruling parties but also in the opposition These leaders have been directly or indirectly associated with the agencies that were empanelled by the successive governments in the past many years Seeing the BJPrsquos advent post2014 one of these leaders had shifted his base from the NCP to the new ruling campAnother leadermdasha new entrant in the tripartite governmentmdashis said to be associated with a company based in western Maharashtra Among other agencies that were empanelled along with the old masters of the outsourcing game are links with some leaders in the current opposition The buzz says all is not lost for the agencies especially the one associated with a leader very close to power centres because the independent departments have been allowed to create contractual jobs as per their needs It is to be seen whether the departments do the hiring or outsource the task to the private agenciesDharmendra Jore is political editor midday He tweets dharmendrajoreSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom