Maharashtra is currently facing a severe political crisis after the Vidhan Sabha polls. The Bharatiya Janta Party and the Shiv Sena who contested the election in alliance are fighting for the Chief Minister’s post despite the people of state facing major issues.
There is an acute farm crisis in the state right now after heavy rain in the end of October. The political leaders in Maharashtra are insensitive towards the farm crisis. Today, the farmers need immediate help from the government. Though the caretaker government has announced help of ₹10,000 crore, it does not seem sufficient.
In various parts of Maharashtra including the Konkan region, the Marathawada region and northern Maharashtra, farmers had to burn or cut all the crops destroyed by the rain. In Nasik, hundreds of acres of grape farms have been destroyed due to rain. In Marathawada, the same has happened to the soyabean crop. This is the real problem in Maharashtra right now, but political leaders and the media seem more concerned about who is going to be the CM of the state.
The people of Maharashtra have given the mandate to the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance and they are expected to form the new government as soon as possible. But since the day of the election result, both parties are vying for the post of the CM and no one is ready to negotiate and form the government. On November 8, the deadline for the current government ends, after which there may be presidential rule in the state until the next government forms.
At the time of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena had decided to have an alliance. During a press conference, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stated that the alliance will have a 50-50 formula for the Vidhan Sabha and there will be equal distribution of seats and other posts. The Shiv Sena wants this to be followed and a CM to be selected for 2.5 years as per the formulae.
But, the BJP has already declared Devendra Fadnavis as next CM and they are not ready to negotiate on this. This has created a situation of political crisis in Maharashtra and 14 days after the election result, no government has been formed.
Maharashtra has a large number of farmer suicides reported each year. Last few years, it was specifically because of the drought. This year, farmers are more affected by the excess rain.
In the month of August, about five districts in western Maharashtra including Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, Karad, and Solapur faced floods because of which thousands of acres of land was under water for almost two weeks. This ultimately destroyed the crop. So, people living in every part of the state are affected by the annual natural disasters and need to be helped by the government they have voted for.
The political parties active in the state should understand the seriousness of this. The people of Maharashtra need to not suffer more than they already are.