Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Saturday that several loyal voters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena and Congress Party were on holiday during the Lok Sabha polls and that he expected his parties to win more than 400 seats in the 543-seat House.
“We were caught off guard by the opposition in the Lok Sabha elections. Some voters went on holiday during the polls thinking that the NDA would easily win more than 400 seats in the general elections. This defeat highlights the need for a more strategic approach going forward,” Shinde said at a joint rally of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Mumbai.See also: ‘The people who abandoned me…’: Uddhav Thackeray on possible return of Eknath Shinde refugee camp
The prime minister claimed that opposition voters exercised their franchise enthusiastically with a voter turnout of around 80 per cent, according to PTI.
“If 60 per cent of voters had turned up at the polls, we could have easily won 40 seats. We cannot afford to be complacent or callous after such a crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections,” he added.
BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis supported Shinde’s allegations and said NDA leaders had not paid due attention to the lies spread by the Opposition during the elections.See also: BJP’s Maharashtra allies express dissatisfaction after Union Cabinet is formed
Maharashtra has 48 members in the Lok Sabha. In the recent general elections, the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance consisting of the Indian National Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) won 30 seats. The BJP’s tally dropped to nine, while Shinde’s ally Shiv Sena won seven seats and Ajit Pawar’s NCP managed just one. See also: Devastated by poll results, Ajit Pawar makes emotional appeal to votersThe Lok Sabha election results have given the MVA a boost ahead of crucial state assembly elections due later this year. During the meeting, Fadnavis pointed out that alliance leaders have been issuing statements blaming each other. “Some party leaders feel the urge to make statements. My suggestion to them is to first talk to leaders and take permission before opening their mouths,” he said. (Courtesy of PTI)
