Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday called the Maharashtra assembly poll results, which the BJP-led Mahayuti swept, completely unexpected and incomprehensible, and cast aspersions on its authenticity.
Addressing a news conference, Thackeray said he could not believe Maharashtra, which listened to him as ‘kutumb pramukh’ (head of family) during the coronavirus pandemic, would behave this way with him.
“I cannot believe Maharashtra will behave this way with me. There is certainly something fishy,” he said.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Sena (UBT), Congress and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) suffered a crushing blow, with its candidates winning or leading in about 45 seats, a far cry from the boasts by many of its senior leaders that the combine would trounce the Mahayuti.
Thackeray said the results reflect that there was a tsunami rather than a wave and added that the “anger” against the government was very much visible over unemployment and agrarian distress.
The former chief minister wondered how the situation could change so drastically in four months after the Lok Sabha polls in which Maha Vikas Aghadi decimated the NDA, winning 30 of the state’s 48 seats.
“I promise to the people of Maharashtra that we will keep fighting for the rights of the state,” Thackeray asserted.
Of the 95 seats it contested, the Sena (UBT) won just 20 seats. By contrast, Uddhav’s archrival and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who split the Bal Thackeray-founded Shiv Sena in 2022, powered his outfit to an emphatic show.
Shinde’s Sena was winning or leading in 57 seats, as per the latest figures shared by the Election Commission, in a major boost to his side as he has been repeatedly accused by Uddhav and his aides of “stealing” the original party.
Thackeray also took a dig at Shinde saying he would now have to under Devendra Fadnavis, amid speculation that the BJP leader would be made the CM.
In the Mahayuti of BJP, Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP could win over 230 of the 288 seats in the state. BJP and NCP look poised to bag 133 and 41 seats, respectively.
Of the other MVA partners, NCP (SP) won only 10 of the 86 seats it contested, while the Congress was winning or leading in only 16 constituencies though it had fielded 101 candidates.
