Accepting "full responsibility" for the ruling BJP's dismal show in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday offered to resign from his post in the State Government so that he could work "full time" for the party  to improve its performance in the State Assembly polls scheduled for October this year.

Talking to media persons here, Fadnavis said he would ask the BJP's Central leadership to "relieve" him from all the responsibilities in the Maharashtra Government" so that he could work  "full time" for the party ahead of the State Assembly polls.

"I take full responsibility for the dismal performance of the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra.  I accept that I fell short somewhere that contributed to the party's setback in the polls," Fadnavis said.

"I am going to tell the Central BJP leadership that I want to work full time for the party ahead of the State Assembly polls. I am going to request my party leadership to relieve me from the State Government and give me an opportunity to work for the party," the senior State BJP leader said.

Fadnavis' statement should be seen in the light of the fact that the ruling MahaYuti - comprising BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and NCP (Ajit Pawar)-collectively won just 17 seats out of total 48 seats as against 30 seats won by the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Shiv Sena (Sharad Pawar).

At the individual level, the BJP won mere nine seats as against 23 seats it had won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

In comparison, the Opposition Congress performed very well by winning 13 seats as against just one seat that it had won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, in which it had put up a miserable performance. 

Reacting to Fadnavis' offer to step down as the Chief Minister, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the Lok Sabha poll outcome was a "collective responsibility" because all the three ruling parties --- BJP, Shiv Sena led by him and NCP ( Sharad Pawar) - had contested the elections collectively.

"Since we worked together, all the three parties have to share the responsibility for the defeat collectively," Shinde said.

In related development, the Opposition has consolidated its position in the State by winning 13 out of the 17 seats it had contested in the polls, while the Sharad Pawar-led NCP performed brilliantly by bagging 8 seats out of the 10 seats it had contested.  The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena secured nine seats out of the 21 seats it had contested.

For the Congress, the bulk of the seats came from its once-stronghold of Vidarbha region where it won six of the 10 seats - Anup Dhotre (Akola), Balwant Wankhede (Amravati-SC), Shyam Barve (Ramtek-SC), Dr Prashant Padole (Bhandara-Gondiya), Dr Kirsan Namdeo (Gadchiroli-Chimur-ST) and Pratibha Dhanorkar (Chandrapur).

In Marathwada, the Congress won three seats - Jalna (Kalyan Kale),  Nanded (Vasant Chavan) and Latur-SC (Dr Shivaji Kalge). The Congress won one seat in the coastal Konkan region, where Mumbai Regional Congress Committee president Prof Varsha Gaikwad bagged the Mumbai North-Central despite all odds stacked up against it.