BJP blames Shiv Sena for Mahayuti’s poor showing in Maharashtra MLC polls
Ruling alliance won two of five seats, with the BJP accusing Eknath Shinde’s party of failing to support its allies and undermining the coalition’s prospects
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi won three of five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats.
The BJP accused Shiv Sena of non-cooperation in Pune and Nagpur.
The ruling Mahayuti comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP.
Cracks have emerged in Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti alliance after the BJP blamed ally Shiv Sena for the coalition’s poor performance in the Legislative Council elections, accusing it of failing to honour alliance commitments and undermining its prospects.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) won three of the five graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies that went to the polls on 23 October, while the BJP-led Mahayuti secured two seats.
Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban alleged that Shiv Sena failed to fulfil its alliance obligations in Pune and Nagpur. He also said the party’s last-minute support for independent candidate Sachin Sanap in the Pune teachers’ constituency weakened the alliance.
Ban accused Shiv Sena minister Abdul Sattar of campaigning against the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, contributing to the coalition’s setbacks.
The Mahayuti comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena, led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the NCP.
In a post on X, Ban said Shiv Sena’s backing of Sanap did not translate into support for the BJP in the Pune graduates’ constituency. He claimed the alliance could have won all five seats had Shiv Sena supported the BJP and the NCP.
“By pursuing one seat in Pune, the Shiv Sena put its allies in difficulty and cost the alliance an opportunity to win three seats,” Ban said, adding that the approach was not in the Mahayuti’s interest.
Maharashtra BJP vice-president Keshav Upadhye also called for an introspection into the results, questioning why the ruling alliance had won only two seats despite the possibility of a clean sweep.
“Will we introspect as the Mahayuti after the results of the five seats? Will we consider why we stopped at two when there was a strong possibility of winning all five seats had we contested together?” Upadhye asked in a post on X.
NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav won the Pune graduates’ constituency, while Congress candidate Abhijeet Wanjari secured the Nagpur graduates’ seat. An NCP (SP) candidate won the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar graduates’ constituency.
The BJP’s Kaustubh Gawade won the Pune teachers’ constituency, while Shiv Sena candidate Kiran Sarnaik secured the Amravati teachers’ seat.