Opposition unity critical if BJP is to be defeated, say MVA allies

Maharashtra BJP celebrates Delhi win, but opposition claims vote manipulation. Allies stress unity to counter BJP's dominance in future elections.

MUMBAI: The BJP in Maharashtra on Saturday celebrated its party’s victory in the Delhi assembly polls all over the state. The opposition, however, has termed it the victory of the ‘Maharashtra pattern’—the alleged manipulation of votes that saw the BJP score yet another win. Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies also expressed the need for the opposition INDIA coalition to stick together to counter the BJP.

Opposition unity critical if BJP is to be defeated, say MVA allies

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis declared that the victory in Delhi was a representation of the “confidence shown by voters in PM Narendra Modi’s leadership”. “The voters have unmasked AAP and its leader Arvind Kejriwal, who had been misleading the people with false assurances and cheating,” he claimed. “After the Lok Sabha results, the voters in Haryana, Maharashtra and now in Delhi stood by ‘Ek Hain Toh Safe Hain’ appeal and will continue to do so in the states that are going to the polls in the future. I am sure the BJP government in Delhi will pass the test of the people’s expectations and aspirations.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said that the BJP had replicated its Maharashtra pattern in the Delhi elections. “From harassing Kejriwal with the help of central agencies, arresting key leaders to manipulating the voter list, their strategy is clear,” he said. “They eliminate the leaders who dare to challenge Modi and Shah.”

Allies in the state opposition bloc MVA also opined that the result would have been different, had the INDIA allies contested the Delhi assembly election together. Not only did AAP and Congress contest the election separately but also targeted each other during the campaign.

“The winning candidates of the BJP have won with less than the votes polled by candidates in the third position,” remarked Rohit Pawar, NCP (SP) MLA and grandnephew of party chief Sharad Pawar. “Like-minded parties should have come together in a fight against a giant power like BJP which uses legitimate-illegitimate means to win the elections. The ego of the INDIA bloc constituents helped BJP win the difficult battle.”

Rohit claimed that the BJP could not have won even 20 seats, had the INDIA bloc fought the elections together. Raut, too, opined that the Delhi and Haryana assembly results would have been different if the Congress and AAP had contested them in alliance.

Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde said that Delhi voters had “rooted out the falsehood of AAP” and accepted “true leadership”. “The voters have shown confidence in Modiji’s guarantee,” he said. “At least 15 sitting MLAs of AAP wanted to be Shiv Sena candidates after they were denied tickets by their party. We, however, supported the BJP to avoid a division of votes.”

The other deputy CM Ajit Pawar too chanted the same lines. “Delhi voters have shown their confidence in the leadership of Narendra Modi,” he said, adding that Amit Shah’s “planning and strategy” had played a key role in the election. “The ‘double engine’ government in Delhi will help the development of the capital city at double pace,” he said.

All NCP candidates lose deposit

All the candidates of the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party lost their deposits and the party got only 0.03% of the vote. “It is true that the NCP could not get the expected results in Delhi, but we have learnt a lot from the process,” said Ajit. “Learning from the defeat, our party will concentrate on expanding well at the national level.”