There is never a dull moment in our politics. A week ago in Maharashtra, the only blip on the radar was the Shiv Sena's candidate Sanjay Pawar losing and the Bharatiya Janta Party's Dhananjay Mahadik winning the Rajya Sabha elections. After the victory, media reports quoted BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis saying, "Rajya Sabha was just a trailer. Wait and watch what we do next." Many interpreted the next to be the elections to the legislative council.
In this electoral contest, the BJP's candidate Prasad Lad emerged as an unexpected winner. In both these elections, the BJP did not have adequate votes to ensure their candidate's victory. It received support from independent MLAs, and then there was cross-voting by Shiv Sena legislators in the council elections. In hindsight, the two events were an indication that there was a political storm coming to Maharashtra.
