Leading newspapers on Sunday described the victory of Maharashtra’s ruling coalition as a resurgence of the Bharatiya Janata Party, with many of them making references to the state government’s Ladki Bahin scheme for monthly cash transfers to women.

With respect to the Jharkhand Assembly election results, prominent newspapers noted that Chief Minister Hemant Soren retained power despite the BJP’s repeated claims that the state’s tribal identity was under threat due to Muslim infiltrators.

In Maharashtra, the ruling alliance comprising the BJP, the Shiv Sena group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar won 230 out of 288 seats. The Maha Vikas Aghadi – comprising the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the NCP group led by Sharad Pawar and the Congress – won just 46 seats.

In Jharkhand, the ruling alliance of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal won 56 of 81 seats. The Opposition coalition comprising the BJP, All Jharkhand Students Union, Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), could win only 24 seats.

BJP ‘bounceback’ in Maharashtra

The Indian Express noted that the Maharashtra Assembly elections represented a resurgence for the BJP after its disappointing performance in the Lok Sabha election earlier this year. Its headline read: “BJP wave powers Maha bounceback”.

The newspaper noted that the BJP, which had been reduced to single digits in the Lok Sabha elections, staged a “resounding comeback” in the state election. It also said that with the BJP having won 130 seats on its own, there was a strong feeling in the BJP cadre that it should stake claim for the chief minister’s post, with party leader Devendra Fadnavis being the obvious choice.

The Times of India’s headline “Ladki Powers Mahassive Saffron Wave” alluded to the Ladki Bahin scheme announced in June, under which eligible women in Maharashtra get a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500. The newspaper noted that the BJP won its biggest mandate of all time, while the Congress was reduced to an all-time low.

Marathi newspaper Loksatta noted on its front page that apart from the BJP, Shinde and and Ajit Pawar had also got “resounding success”. Its headline, “Mahayutiche Sanghrajya”, alluded to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of the BJP.

Another Marathi newspaper, Sakal, described the election result as a “tsunami” for the BJP. Its headline read “Mahayutich Ladki [The Mahayuti remains the dear one]”, in a reference to the Ladki Bahin scheme.

Hindi newspaper Navbharat Times attributed the ruling coalition’s victory to five factors – the Ladki Bahin scheme, the support of the RSS cadre, religious polarisation, the government “being seen to to be working”, and money power.

‘Polarisation didn’t work in Jharkhand’

On Jharkhand, The Indian Express noted that Chief Minister Hemant Soren won despite having been jailed in an alleged corruption case. The newspaper said that the result came as a “shot in the arm” for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, and noted that he had to work on keeping his flock together after being released on bail.

The newspaper noted that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJP’s election-in-charge for Jharkhand, led a campaign that “focused on stoking fears that Bangladeshi infiltrators were changing the demography of the state, particularly affecting tribals”. However, it noted, the strategy did not bear fruit.

The Times of India said that welfare schemes such as the Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana worked in favour of the government, along with other measures such as pensions for the elderly and widows and a subsidised housing scheme.

Further, it said that the BJP’s prospects were undermined by the rise of Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha leader Jairam Kumar Mahato, who “undercut its ally, AJSU’s Sudesh Mahto, among Kurmi voters”.

Also read: In Jharkhand, a young leader’s growing popularity leaves established parties worried

Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar noted that while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha had the most seats, the BJP had the highest vote share at 33.18%.

Another Hindi newspaper, Rajasthan Patrika, said that the “Adivasi vote was decisive” in Jharkhand. It said that the BJP did not “benefit from polarisation” and that the Adivasis remained with the INDIA alliance.