Amit Shah, Nadda dissect Maharashtra LS debacle, mull state polls strategy

BJP’s central leadership held a meeting to deliberate upon the reasons for the defeat and chalk out a roadmap for the forthcoming assembly polls

MUMBAI: After its poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, the BJP’s central leadership on Tuesday held a meeting with its state core committee to deliberate upon the reasons for the defeat and chalk out a roadmap for the forthcoming assembly polls. The largest party in the three-party coalition in Maharashtra has decided to ensure better coordination with its partners and take corrective measures to better its performance.

New Delhi, Jun 18 (ANI): BJP National President JP Nadda in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah chairs Maharashtra BJP core committee meeting, in New Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI Photo) (BJP4India - X)

Union home minister Amit Shah chaired the high-level meeting in Delhi in the presence of Bhupendra Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw, the newly appointed duo in charge of the party in Maharashtra. Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Sudhir Mungantiwar, state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar, former union minister Raosaheb Danve, union minister Piyush Goyal and the party’s national general secretary Vinod Tawde were present at the meeting.

The central leadership expressed its unhappiness at the sub-par performance in the polls and debated on the reasons for this. The Mahayuti, the ruling alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, won just 17 of 48 seats in Maharashtra. The BJP’s tally dropped to a mere nine seats, a far cry from its 23 seats in Lok Sabha 2019.

According to the Maharashtra leaders, factors such as the delay in announcement of candidates, the “false narrative” set by the opposition, wrong selection of candidates, consolidation of Maratha voters against the alliance and the lack of coordination among the three ruling partners were the major reasons for the BJP’s poor showing.

“The false narrative—that we would change the Constitution if elected—went against us and we failed to counter it,” said a leader. “Similarly, tribals fell prey to the misinformation spread by the opposition that we would scrap schemes meant for them. Besides, there were complaints by candidates about the non-cooperation of workers and leaders from our partners. The central leadership was apprised of this and we have now decided to better our coordination for the assembly polls.”

After the meeting, Fadnavis said that a road map had been prepared for the assembly polls, which would soon be discussed with the BJP’s alliance partners. “We discussed the factors that impacted our performance and the corrective measures that need to be taken for the state polls,” he said. “A preliminary discussion was also held on the road map we prepared.”

Fadnavis claimed that the Mahayuti had lagged behind the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi by a vote share of just 0.6%. “We will hold a discussion with our alliance partners to discuss the way ahead for the state polls,” he said. “A strategy will be chalked out with their help. Our central leadership has extended full support.”

The leaders also reportedly told the central leadership about the polarisation of Muslim votes in the state, especially in Mumbai, leading to their defeat. It apprised the leadership of the measures the state government was taking to woo those sections of society that went against the BJP and the ruling alliance. “The state government is taking steps to comply with the reservation demands of the Maratha community,” said a leader. “This will help us pacify the community ahead of the election.”

Fadnavis’ request to relieve him of the deputy CM’s post was also discussed but the leadership has not taken any decision on it. Goyal, however, said that there would be no change in the leadership in Maharashtra. “The NDA will face the assembly polls in Maharashtra with full strength and come to power again,” he said.