- 1. Lack of organizational Skills: If we have a closer look towards the journey of MNS. They scored a good at the beginning of their career with 13 MLAs in 2009. But with time many of them left the party. This showed how hard it was for them to hold the leaders. Till the 2014 elections came the condition was so weak that they hardly got any candidates to fight elections. They lost all the 13 seats. Even the vote share reduced as compared to 2009 elections.
- 2. Supported Narendra Modi in 2014 Loksabha Elections: In 2014 Loksabha there was a clear Modi wave. And it was evident that MNS would hardly make any impression. And as then the party leader announced that if any of their Candidate wins they would Support NARENDRA MODI. It was a very clear message. But the effect was disastrous for the party. Because when the voter decided to vote for Modi why would they MNS, where there is a direct candidate of BJP-Shivsena? This proved a big disaster for them and they lost all the seats.
- 3. 2019 Loksabha Election: Against Narendra Modi. Learning from the past experience Raj Thackeray knew that now supporting Narendra Modi will be foolish. And this time he chooses to Oppose him with greater potential. And it was a bad choice because this even made a much harder effect. Because this time he gave zero candidates, took more than 10 Sabha, and spoke against Modi. All the scenario was clear that he was working to benefit someone else which was the Congress NCP. And the netizens trolled his video on a large scale.
- 4. Closeness with Sharad Pawar: The party decided to rally against the BJP and not to put any candidate was a clear conspiracy between Sharad Pawar and Raj Thackeray. This was the perception formed within the masses. There was a series of meetings with Sharad Pawar and Raj Thackeray at different venues. Also in Solapur, both were in the same hotel for an overnight stay when Raj Thackeray has a Sabha in Solapur. The biggest thing I observed was the bites of Raj Thackeray being shared by the NCP account Handlers online. This confirmed that there was some deal behind doors between both of them.
- 5. Meeting with Sonia Gandhi: In July 2019 Raj Thackeray met Sonia Gandhi at her residence in Delhi. This created a sense of doubt among Political Pundits. and many of them thought that the NCP Chief would have been behind this. But this didn't impress anyone. If he had a plan to ally with the Congress NCP and have seat share in the alliance then this would have been one of his core political blunders. Because before 2014 he and his party were completely against the Congress-NCP Government. And if he would have allied with them then this double standards would have hardly been accepted by the Masses.
- 6. The violence of Party Workers: The party ideology is well known, which is fighting for the rights of Marathi People. The extend to protesting for the Bhumiputras seems righteous, but the incidents of threatening the North Indian citizens greys the image of the party. Their animosity with the outsiders, as they say, is not new. Due to this, there were a number of cases filed in the MNS party workers. As per my observation, the Marathi people agree with the stand of the party, but they are global in thinking. Marathi people think of others first and then of themselves. One example I can share with you guys, try this you will never be disappointed. If you go to any of the southern states they will hesitate while speaking in Hindi. They are rigid about their Language. But if you come and have a one to one conversation with a Marathi manus, he feels no shame in switching to Hindi. That's the real Global Marathi Manus. One more reason why is the party ideology not being the core concern of the people is that the party beyond politics has not done any remarkable on social grounds. People at least expected to have social security and opportunity created under the party Leadership through Guerrilla Tactics.
- 7. Biggest U-turn to contest Election by Raj himself: after the 20014 Lok sabha election, Raj Thackeray in a rally announced to contest the 2014 Vidhan Sabha Elections. This was historic as he would be the first one to contest from the Thackeray Family. But as the elections came closer he withdrew his decision. The decision to contest the election was power-boosting for the party members. Because of this, a good orator would have been in the State Assembly to raise people's issues. But his U-turn broke all the expectations of the Party as well as the people who love him.
- 8. No specific achievement at ground level: The Party works for the rights of Marathi Manus and for the genuine issues of the common people. They raised many issues like Toll issues, Railway Exams issues, Corruption issues, Irregularity in the Irrigation Department, EVM Doubts, and the latest is the ARREY issue. Even though after raising voice on these issues, they haven't made any significant impact as a whole. Many The party chief always pointed out the concern regarding the decreasing number of Marathi population in Mumbai City. But it's sad to say that there have been no effective steps taken which were the biggest expectation.
- 9. EVM cries: After a number of state elections, the BJP won a handful number of states till date. In many of the states they made the Government for the First Time. This created doubt within the opposition regarding the Election process and especially the EVMs. But till date, there is no hard proof regarding this claim. And the MNS party also took the stand to blame the EVM. This I guess was hardly appreciated by the people. Because there were a number of contradictions where the parties who blamed the Govt, they themselves won two states through EVM process.
- 10. Nashik Tragedy: In 2012 Municipal Elections, Raj Thackeray was at his peak till date. Because in the Municipal elections he had won a number of seats. And also the Nashik Municipal Corporation. This was his first-ever opportunity to serve the people. In Nashik, he already had 3 MLAs, and they already had good hopes. And finally, they captured the Nashik Municipal Corporation. But the Political condition throughout their tenure was not so good. They even had to change the sitting Mayor. Many party workers, position holders left the party. On Development point of view, there was more focus on the beautification of the city with a project like Goda Park. During the Kumbh Mela, the Municipal Corporation was solely dependant on the Funds from the Centre and State. This was a golden opportunity for the party to prove its worth but they failed to do so.
- 11. "Lav re toh video": During the Loksabha Campaign, the party decided not to contest the Loksabha Elections. This was okay to digest. But what was beyond expectations was their stand to campaign against the Modi Government. This was also okay. But in a rally, the MNS party Chief indirectly favored the IBC-NCP by appealing to people to Vote anyone else but not the Incumbent BJP-Shivsena Government. This was an indirect message. He used video clips to expose the Government. That's what he called, "Lav re toh Video" while showing a clip. He took 10 ASabhas. But as the results came it proved a Big Flop.
There is a lot for the Party to work on, from the Ideology, the organization, the connect with the people, the firm decision and a lot more. Let's hope the Party to recover soon and become the voice of the opposition, which is the need of the hour.
