Bihar Election 2020: Shiv Sena fetches fewer votes than NOTA

The Shiv Sena, which quit the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance to form the government in Maharashtra with NCP and Congress’s help in 2019, has been contesting assembly and national elections to increase its base

Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) did not manage to even win a single seat in the Bihar assembly elections with the former fetching fewer votes than the voters who exercised the None of the Above (NOTA) option. The Shiv Sena polled 0.05% of the total votes while NOTA fetched 1.68% votes. All Sena candidates lost their deposits, a Sena functionary said. According to the Election Commission website, the NCP got 0.23% votes. In 2015 too, the party contested 40 seats without any success.

BJP supporters celebrate the NDA’s lead at the BJP office on counting day of Bihar assembly polls in Patna, Bihar, on Tuesday.(HT Photo)

The Shiv Sena, which quit the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance to form the government in Maharashtra with NCP and Congress’s help in 2019, does not much sway outside the state. But it has been contesting assembly and national elections in states such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan to increase its base. It has been unsuccessful so far.

Sena leaders said they gave tickets to local functionaries and social activities with some presence in their constituencies. The party initially planned to contest around 50 seats but around 30 Sena candidates filed their nomination forms. Only 22 candidates of them remained in the fray after the scrutiny of papers.

The NCP contested around 80 seats.