BJP's humiliating mandates in Maharashtra, Haryana

It seems that diminishing returns have set in for the BJP and the Shiv Sena, even though the alliance has retained power in Maharashtra. The man who halted the Modi-Shah juggernaut is Sharad Pawar, but right now he is least of the ruling dispensation's worry.

More pressing is the prospect of the Shiv Sena, bolstered by a hugely improved performance, playing the spoilsport unless the BJP agrees to a 50:50 division of Cabinet berths and a turn at the Chief Minister's post. In Haryana, the scenario is grim with the BJP needing crutches if it wishes to form the government.

Nothing could be more agonising for a party that has won the Lok Sabha elections five months ago with an overwhelming majority. Surely, the voters of Haryana and Maharashtra have pricked the party's bubble of invincibility. Accepting the mandate with humility and recalibrating its policies should be the way forward. There is no room for complacency anymore.

-J S Acharya, Tarnaka, Hyderabad