Maharashtra Politics: BJP Not Rejected, Faltered in Poll Arithmetic – Fadnavis
Mumbai, 6th June 2024: Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asserted on Wednesday that the BJP has not been written off in Maharashtra, despite recent electoral setbacks. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured 27.8% of the vote share and won 23 seats. This time, the party garnered 26.2% of the vote share, a decline of less than 1.5%, yet only won nine seats.
Conversely, the Congress increased its vote share from 16.4% in the last elections to 17% this time, winning 13 seats compared to just one in 2019. Notably, the BJP received an additional 200,000 votes in Mumbai, Fadnavis highlighted.
“BJP has not been rejected by the people. We got marginally fewer votes, but the opposition’s votes were consolidated, aided by narratives about the Constitution being changed and Maratha reservation issues,” Fadnavis said.
He acknowledged that the opposition set a successful narrative about potential changes to the Constitution, which the BJP struggled to counter. Additionally, he noted that the minority vote consolidated behind the INDI alliance.
Fadnavis pointed out polarization over the Maratha reservation issue in Marathwada, despite the government’s efforts to provide reservation to Marathas. “We need to address this and make efforts to reach out to people and create awareness about the work being done,” he added.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed his commitment to continue working with Fadnavis and the coalition parties (Sena, BJP, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP). Shinde emphasized that the reasons for the defeat would be thoroughly reviewed.
“If you look at the vote share, Mahayuti got over 200,000 more votes in Mumbai. The false narrative that the Constitution will be changed damaged us. The opposition’s cry was ‘Modi Hatao.’ Modiji has a development agenda that we could not effectively counter. In the past two years, the government has taken many good decisions in the state,” Shinde said, urging that failures should not discourage the party. He added, “It is a temporary success to try to get votes by misleading the public. We are moving forward with a development agenda.”
Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut remarked that the electorate had relieved Fadnavis and PM Modi of their responsibilities. Meanwhile, NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase described Fadnavis’s statement as a strategic move aimed at the removal of both CM Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
