The year that was

The year 2009 firmly established some leaders and parties — from the 125-year-old Congress to the three-year-old Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

The year 2009 firmly established some leaders and parties — from the 125-year-old Congress to the three-year-old Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

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Winning combination
Anti-incumbency and the flak the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government received after the terror attacks, did not affect the combine much because it benefitted by a division of saffron votes.

The Congress bagged 17 seats in the Lok Sabha and 82 in the Assembly. Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who faced two elections in six months, successfully fought rivals within the party and outside. The party rewarded him with another term as CM.

The NCP, however, did not have a great year. Party chief lost his chance to be Prime Minister because of infighting and rebellion. The NCP also lagged behind Congress in the Assembly polls. The party almost split following a cold war between Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal over the deputy chief minister’s post.

A weak opposition, however, helped the Congress-NCP sail comfortably on the floor of the legislature. It managed to delay the tabling of the Ram Pradhan report that dealt with the handling of the 26/11 terror attacks.

The Great Spoiler
The MNS’s potential to play spoiler showed in the Assembly polls when it won 13 crucial seats in the Mumbai-Pune belt. Raj Thackeray became a new power centre much to the chagrin of his estranged cousin Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray.

The MNS, however, took state politics to a new low when its legislators assaulted Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Asim Azmi for taking the oath in Hindi.

Spiralling downwards
Uddhav proved to be the year’s biggest loser. The party, under his leadership, won 11 Lok Sabha seats, one short of its 2004 tally. He touched a new low of 44 seats in the 288-member state Assembly and blamed the defeat on MNS. The Sena also lost the post of leader of opposition in the Assembly to BJP.

BJP leaders on a high
The BJP may not have succeeded in forming the government in Maharashtra but senior leaders from the state were elevated to new heights.

State BJP President Nitin Gadkari was appointed national president while National General Secretary Gopinath Munde was appointed deputy opposition leader in the Lok Sabha.