The last fortress of congress dominance : Maharashtra since the 1990s / Suhas Palshikar, Rajeshwari Deshpande.

"Focused mainly on Maharashtra's politics since the 1990s, The Last Fortress of Congress Dominance also provides its readers a clear view of the historical context and the socio-political forces that have dominated the state since the 1950s. The politics of Maharashtra has been woven around two key factors: the Congress party and the Marathas. Attempts by the Shiv Sena and the BJP to emerge as alternatives to the Congress have had only limited success so far. As the state politics witnesses the transition into a new party system, the book presents a detailed study on the party system of Maharashtra and situates the analysis in the broader context of crisis of the Marathas and the many distortions of the state's political economy. Aided by rich survey data from the National Election Studies, for all elections since 1996, the book presents a long-term view of the politics of Maharashtra as the state completes 60 years of its existence. Suhas Palshikar is Chief Editor of Studies in Indian Politics and Retired Professor of Savitribai Phule Pune University. Rajeshwari Deshpande is Professor at the Department of Politics and Public Administration, Savitribai Phule Pune University"--