What social media opinionators had to say about the recent elections

There was more buzz online this week as the results came in after a lacklustre round of Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. The epitaphs for the Opposition had been written and pollsters had raised a green flag for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) juggernaut to roll on. 

But on D-day, it became apparent that the BJP will have to rely on its ally, the Shiv Sena, in Maharashtra more than it had to in the last five years. And in Haryana, where too its seat tally reduced to deny it majority, the BJP was left to woo happy-to-help Independents. Here’s a list of Twitter trends that captured the subplots.

#AadityaThackerayForCM

In 2014, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis became the second youngest chief minister (44) of Maharashtra after Sharad Pawar. If the dreams of Shiv Sena followers come true, Aaditya Thackeray, 29, could smash all records. The grandson of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray recorded a landslide win from Worli, immediately triggering speculation that he could be the youngest deputy chief minister in the state. As supporters demanded a young CM, his father and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray pushed for a 50:50 formula with the BJP that could put Aaditya at the helm for half the term. The love-hate relationship between the allies continues.

#SharadPawar

People don’t like arrogance of power and the election results are proof of that, claimed veteran politician Sharad Pawar, encouraged by his Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) improved tally. The Congress termed him the “real Maratha tiger”. A photo of him rain-drenched at a rally in Satara where he campaigned for a candidate who went on to win the Lok Sabha bypoll went viral on Thursday. The photo and the results were further proof that Pawar is still a man for all seasons.

#IndiansWithCongress

Indians with who? A comatose Congress party found virtual life support after unexpectedly bettering its performance in both states despite infighting, defections and, well, indifference. The odd user dismissed the hashtag, like the party, as a joke. But for many, it was a renewed vow of allegiance. “The original nationalist party”, an “emotion”, a “lifestyle”, the Congress earned a flurry of labels from admirers. But we are yet to hear from Rahul Gandhi, its AWOL leader, on the poll performance. Gandhi last tweeted a day before the results, criticising the Centre’s decision to merge MTNL and BSNL. Is anybody complaining? Ask Bhupendra Hooda, the former CM who led a resurgent Congress campaign in Haryana after getting rid of a state unit chief handpicked by Gandhi.

#GopalKanda

The most controversial visual in circulation was one showing a couple of legislators from Haryana on-board a flight arranged by a BJP MP to ferry them to New Delhi. It may be usual practice for a party to lure rebels and Independents, but the sight of one MLA outraged everyone. Gopal Kanda, the winning candidate from Sirsa who was tipped as a kingmaker, was arrested in 2012 after a former airhostess in an airline owned by him accused him of harassment and committed suicide. A year later, her mother too killed herself. The photo drew wide condemnation, including from BJP hardliner Uma Bharti who urged the party to shun Kanda and reminded it of its “moral values”.

Fact check

Twitterati latched on to a photo of a weeping Pankaja Munde, the BJP candidate from Parli, posted by a news agency. Munde lost to NCP’s Dhananjay Munde, her cousin, and the photo was shared as her reaction to the loss. Except, it was a screen grab from an old broadcast.