India, Feb. 11 -- The electoral domination of the BJP-led Mahayuti over Maharashtra is now complete, with the alliance poised to win 11 of the 12 zilla parishads (ZPs) and at least 100 of the 125 panchayat samitis in the state. Since the Lok Sabha debacle in 2024, the Mahayuti has regained political ground in the state, and now dominates all tiers of government - from the legislative assembly to Panchayati Raj Institutions. At the heart of this political shift is the rise and spread of the BJP as a pan-Maharashtra party, and the decline of what once used to be described as the Congress system in the state. For sure, much of the Mahayuti's gains has to do with the alliance working together. Just as the BJP won over rural elites and patronage networks centred around agricultural cooperatives and educational institutions that were central to the dominance of the Congress in Maharashtra, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the late Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party consolidated the vote bases of their respective united parties. The BJP has married ideology and aspirations, and built a robust organisation inducting ambitious middle-level leaders from the Congress and others, and deployed material resources judiciously to woo the electorate on the developmental Hindutva platform. Its allies, with substantial pockets of influence in Western Maharashtra (NCP) and Konkan (Shiv Sena), have hitched their wagons to the BJP's political chariot that's now racing across the state. The Shinde-led Shiv Sena, for instance, has won 302 panchayat samiti seats, whereas the Shiv Sena (UBT) was reduced to 89. Add tailored welfare programmes, including direct cash transfers, to this mix, and the Mahayuti has an unbeatable winning formula. In contrast, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has resembled a captain-less flotilla caught in a political whirlpool. The Opposition, divided and disoriented, will need to rework its politics to stay relevant in Maharashtra politics....