Title: Political alliance and electoral pacts: a normative understanding of the BJP-Shiv Sena dynamics in Maharashtra

Authors: Jilly Sarkar

Addresses: Department of Political Science, Cotton University, Guwahati-781001, Assam, India

Abstract: The Maharashtra Assembly elections of 2019, was followed by a tussle for formation of government in the state which raises some questions related to the functioning of Indian democracy. The drama which unfolded, leads one to contemplate on whether electoral mandates even matter in a democratic system like India, raising some normative questions regarding alliances between political parties. By focusing on the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, the paper seeks to discern their relational dynamics in order to understand the reasons, which led to their split as also the repercussions that ensued, in an attempt to address the various normative concerns. The paper argues that in an era where alliances between political parties have become more recurrent in Indian politics, rather than an exception, there should be certain norms to which political parties in an alliance should adhere to, not only towards each other but also towards the voters.

Keywords: political alliance; Bharatiya Janata Party; BJP; Shiv Sena; Maharashtra; assembly elections.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2025.149281

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2025 Vol.12 No.4, pp.321 - 334

Received: 23 Nov 2023
Accepted: 15 Jan 2024
Published online: 22 Oct 2025 *

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