BJP, Sena trade barbs over poor show in council polls

Mumbai: After the ruling Mahayuti won only two out of the five legislative council seats for which polling was held last week, alliance partners BJP and Shiv Sena on Thursday blamed each other for the debacle, alleging they had supported opposition candidates and fielded rebels, compromising the prospects of official candidates

Mumbai: After the ruling Mahayuti won only two out of the five legislative council seats for which polling was held last week, alliance partners BJP and Shiv Sena on Thursday blamed each other for the debacle, alleging they had supported opposition candidates and fielded rebels, compromising the prospects of official candidates. Fadnavis is likely to hold a meeting with his deputies to discuss the poll results while state BJP chief Ravindra Chavan will soon submit a report on the same to the party’s central leadership, sources said.

BJP, Sena trade barbs over poor show in council polls

Of the five seats, the BJP and the Shiv Sena won the Pune and Amravati teachers’ constituencies, respectively, while the NCP (SP) won the Pune and Aurangabad graduates’ constituencies and the Congress retained the Nagpur graduates’ constituency. The Mahayuti’s defeat in all three graduates’ constituencies has fuelled speculation that younger voters have drifted towards the Opposition.

The loss of BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale in the Nagpur graduates’ constituency came as an embarrassment for the BJP state leadership including chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and union minister Nitin Gadkari, who are both from Nagpur. The BJP had held the seat for 58 years till 2020, when it was wrested by the Congress’ Abhijit Wanjari. Wanjari’s reelection this time came as a face-saver for the Congress as the party failed to retain the Pune teachers’ seat.

On Thursday, BJP and Shiv Sena leaders traded charges over Mahayuti’s electoral performance. BJP vice president Keshav Upadhye urged alliance leaders to introspect, saying the poll result was evidence of the damage caused by some “well-wishers”. Ravindra Dhangekar, the Sena’s Pune city chief who openly opposed the BJP’s candidate in the Pune graduates’ constituency, accused the party of extending support to independent candidates. “The BJP needs to introspect on whether it is falling short when it comes to maintaining friendships and building coordination,” Dhangekar said. “Elections are a verdict on the government’s performance. Graduates and teachers have a direct connection with the government, and graduates have voted against it, indicating that they are unhappy.”

Dhangekar also said that Shinde should be the chief minister again.

The BJP reacted sharply to the Shiv Sena leaders’ remarks, accusing the party of betraying its alliance partner and contributing to the defeats.

MLC Pravin Darekar questioned whether the statements by Sena leaders reflected the official position of the party’s leadership. Alliance partners should exercise restraint and avoid public criticism that could undermine the coalition, he said.

“All Mahayuti partners must work together through coordination rather than engage in internal rivalry and counterattacks. The Shinde Sena should introspect and correct its mistakes rather than act against the interests of the alliance. Dhangekar cannot speak without the leadership’s approval. Such remarks will not be tolerated if they continue to damage the alliance’s prospects,” Darekar said.

BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban demanded that Shinde take disciplinary action against Dhangekar, citing his alleged social media posts as evidence of campaigning against its alliance partner.

Responding to allegations, Sena chief Eknath Shinde said that his party had always followed “alliance dharma”. There was alliance for four seats while in Pune, there was a friendly fight, he pointed out.

Shiv Sena national spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam hit back at the BJP, warning that targeting Shinde for the alliance’s poor performance in the polls would strengthen the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and weaken the Mahayuti.

“After the results, the Shiv Sena is being accused of not following alliance dharma. We object to this. There was one seat, for which a friendly contest was agreed upon by all leaders. But there was a lack of coordination between the BJP and the Shiv Sena. A meeting should be held to improve coordination rather than make public statements,” Nirupam said.

Sources said that Fadnavis and his deputies, Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, are expected to hold a joint meeting soon to review the alliance’s performance in the council polls. The leaders are likely to discuss the reasons behind the defeat and ways to improve coordination among the ruling partners.

Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan is also expected to submit a report to the party’s central leadership on the reasons behind Mahayuti’s losses. The report may highlight the Shiv Sena’s alleged lack of cooperation during the elections, potentially adding another dimension to the growing tensions within the ruling alliance.

Chavan is expected to meet union home minister Amit Shah, BJP national chief Nitin Nabin and other leaders in Delhi on Friday.

Meanwhile, state Congress president Harshavardhan Sakpal wasted no time in taking a dig at the BJP, saying the victory had burst the “bubble of illusion” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Fadnavis.

“In the city that houses the RSS headquarters and is home to CM Fadnavis and union minister Nitin Gadkari, the Congress has defeated the BJP for the second consecutive time. The defeat comes despite the BJP having the advantage of power, money and its entire organisational machinery,” he said.

Clyde Crasto, the NCP (SP) spokesperson, said that the BJP should first find out why it had lost the Nagpur seat although it is the constituency of Fadnavis, who is often projected as the future prime minister.

“The two ruling parties are busy fighting with each other, indicating that discontent is brewing within the alliance. They don’t see eye-to-eye but are stuck together out of hunger for power. BJP needs to introspect before taunting Congress or opposition parties,” he said.