Wing, a village about 50 km from Pune, does not show any signs of the upcoming assembly elections other than an odd hoarding. That seems strange given that the village in Satara district is part of the sugarcane-growing region in western Maharashtra — a region that is likely to be the most closely watched battlefront for the October 21 assembly elections. The Congress, however, has largely been missing in the campaign discourse, giving the impression that the party has thrown in the towel already. The BJP-Sena alliance’s support in the Maratha community, once believed to be loyal to Pawar and the NCP, is growing. But in the 2009 assembly elections, the BJP won more seats than the Sena.In 2014, in light of its impressive performance in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP demanded that the arrangement be revised.

Source: Economic Times October 19, 2019 17:26 UTC