Shiv Sena says BJP’s debacle in the assembly polls has paved way for a BJP mukt Bharat

The Bharatiya Janata Party's dreams of making India “Congress-mukt” (free of Congress) have bit the dust in three crucial states where it was in power, and has been decimated in the other two states, the Shiv Sena said on Wednesday, December 12 .

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah have been relegated to the sidelines, Congress President Rahul Gandhi is the shining star of merit, said clobbering edits by the Sena in “Saamana” and “Dopahar Ka Saamana”.

Ironically, five years ago after Modi's name was first proposed as Prime Minister, these same states had gone to elections where he had successfully campaigned, and the victories were dubbed as "his auspicious entry" for the BJP.

"Now, as the PM, these states have given a solid drubbing to the BJP. While its invincible bastions like Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have fallen, in Telangana, BJP' tally is lower than Congress' and in Mizoram, it was decimated," the Sena said.

"The Congress has snatched Chhattisgarh from BJP, though its Chief Minister Raman Singh was powerful there, but the the Chanakya brains of BJP attempted to divide-and-rule by propping up Ajit Jogi in the elections.

"Similarly, though 'Mamaji' Shivraj Singh Chauhan was even more popular than Modi in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress caught the lion by the nape, and stopped the BJP's chariot from rolling further.

"In Rajasthan the Congress could have easily crossed 140 seats, but due to infighting it was arrested at 100, though nobody can stop it from forming the government there," the Sena pointed out.

In Telangana, Chandrasekhar Rao has been returned and in Mizoram, a regional outfit MNF has romped home.

"The results clearly show that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and (BJP president) Amit Shah's dream of making the country Congress-mukt has gone to the dust in BJP's own regime. ," the Marathi publication said.

"All these (five) state have given the clear message of a 'BJP-mukt' India. The BJP felt it was destined to win all elections and no other party could survive. But this bubble has been burst... You cannot always win by fooling people," it added.

It accused the BJP of first defeating friends, and now losing crucial Hindi-belt states... "While the economy floundered, farmers suffered, unemployment soared, inflation skyrocketed, and all the time, Modi was busy indulging in high-flying global affairs".

Instead, he sought to raise emotional issues which were rejected by the voters in these latest elections

"Rahul Gandhi prevents me from uttering 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and creates 'obstacles in building Ram temple'... Modi made such childish statements, which recoiled on him... He never asked the Gandhi family before carrying out surgical strikes and demonetisation, and Modi has failed to fulfil the temple promise," the edit said.

The Sena said Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel, who supported the November 2016 note-ban, also quit in frustration. “India is being run by the brains of a handful of industrialists and institutions like RBI are crumbling. Nowhere in the world such an economic chaos been witnessed.”

Patel, who had a run in with the government over several key issues including the central bank's autonomy, resigned from his job on Monday December 10, citing personal reasons. He had more than eight months left in his three-year tenure.

The Sena again hit out at the government's decision of demonetisation, dubbing it as a “farce” which “ruined the country’s economy”. The incident in June 2017, during a protest in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district by farmers demanding loan waiver, five cultivators were killed in police firing, was also cited

“People lost their jobs, inflation increased. At that time, our prime minister was playing world politics and kept on flying. He directly landed for campaigning in four states. His childish talks were filled with issues of faith. This turned against him,” the publication said.

However, the people of these five states, fearlessly voted the BJP out without going into questions of 'There is no alternative' factor, money and muscle power, the Electronic Voting Machines scam, and dashed the high-flyers into the dirt, the Sena said.

Further the leaders of Shiv Sena also attacked the BJP after the results of state polls were declared

"They [voters] have thrown away what they did not want. The courage of these voters has shown a new direction to the country," Uddhav Thackeray said, adding that voters have risen above factors like money and muscle power

Further the party’s spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut told reporters “This is a clear message and BJP needs to introspect. This is the result of how BJP treated its allies”.

Meanwhile, Uddhav's estranged cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray too attacked the BJP over the results. "The results in five states are a slap in the face for the oppressive government," he said.d muscle power.

The Sena is a member of the coalition but has had differences with the saffron party in recent times. The two parties had contested the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2014 on their own but formed a post-poll alliance.