Chidambaram's Take: Maharashtra, too valuable a prize
The present state of Maharashtra was built by the Congress Party. Since May 1, 1960, when the state was carved out of the State of Bombay, there have been 20 chief ministers (some repeated). All but five of them belonged to the Indian National Congress. (I count Sharad Pawar who once represented a breakaway group, the INC-Socialist, as a Congress chief minister).
The five who were from a party opposed to the Congress were Manohar Joshi, Narayan Rane, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde. Between the five, they occupied the seat for about 15 years out of the 64 years, 6 months and 17 days. A chief minister from the Congress party was at the helm during the other years.
The last elections to the state assembly were held in November 2019. In the last five years, there have been three chief ministers. Of them, Fadnavis and Shinde are with the Mahayuti and Thackeray is with the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
The BJP has been in power since October 31, 2014 except for 2 years and 214 days between November 2019 and June 2022 when a coalition of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP (MVA) was in office. The BJP engineered defections in the Shiv Sena and the NCP, toppled the MVA government and installed its own coalition government (Mahayuti).
Elections are underway and polling is on November 20, 2024. I am reminded of a truth enshrined in Shakespeare's words: "... The good is oft interred with their bones." Nobody votes for past glory. The present election is about where Maharashtra finds itself today and what will be its future.
State of the economy
As far as the economy is concerned, undoubtedly it was the Congress that built Maharashtra to its number one position in industrialization but the state has slipped in recent years on various parameters of 'development'.
The numbers speak for themselves:
| 2022-23 | 2023-24 | |
| Growth Rate | 9.4 | 7.6 |
| Revenue Deficit | Rs 1,936 crore | Rs 19,531 crore |
| Fiscal Deficit | Rs 67,602 crore | Rs 1,11,956 crore |
| Capital Expenditure | Rs 85,657 crore | Rs 58,292 crore |
| Agricultural Growth | 4.5% | 1.9% |
| Services Growth | 13% | 8.8% |
| Transport, Trade, Communications, Construction Growth | 14.5% | 6.2% |
Worsening unemployment
Youth unemployment rate is 10.8 per cent. Women unemployment rate is 11.1 per cent. Most employment in Maharashtra is self-employment.
Hundreds of thousands of applicants chase the few government jobs that are advertised from time to time. Over 11 lakh candidates each applied for 18,300 posts of police constable/driver and 4,600 posts of Talati (a village officer).
Job creating world-class businesses, wooed by Maharashtra and after having agreed to be located in the state, have been persuaded by the powers-that-be to move to Gujarat. Examples are the Tata-Airbus transport aircraft factory and the Vedanta-Foxconn semi-conductor factory.
The GIFT city is being forcefully promoted with special laws and privileges to rob Mumbai of its pride of place as the commercial capital of India.
Gross mismanagement
Let me illustrate the parlous state of the economy of Maharashtra with two references. In Maharashtra, that has four distinct regions, there is a widening divide between districts. The very rich districts are Mumbai, Pune and Thane. At the other end are the districts of Nadurbar, Washim, Gadchiroli, Yavatmal, Hingoli and Buldhana.
The net district domestic product (NDDP) of the very rich districts is three times that of the very poor districts. The difference in the per capita NDDP has widened from Rs 97,357 in 2011-12 to Rs 2.4 lakh in 2022-23.
This means that the government has shown utter disregard for equitable development of the state.
Another example is the plight of the farmers. In 2023, Maharashtra recorded 2,851 cases of suicide by farmers. Take the central government's policy on onions. First, it banned exports. Following protests, it lifted the ban but imposed a minimum export price and an export duty of 40 per cent. The consequence was onion farmers suffered huge losses and India lost its share of the international market. Against a normal export of 15 lakh tonnes by July, this year the export was 2.6 lakh tonnes.
Examples can be multiplied about the gross mismanagement of the state's economy. The boast of a double-engine government is an empty boast. The first engine is diverting the train to Gujarat and the second engine is a deadweight.
If the voter is a purely economic man/woman, the voter will vote for candidates and parties who will put Maharashtra's economy first above all other considerations. Maharashtra's economy is too valuable a prize to be neglected or lost under any circumstances.