Uddhav faction blamed Congress for Maharashtra defeat, said- overconfidence is the main reason

Mumbai. After the crushing defeat of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly Elections, senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve has launched a scathing attack on the Congress. He blamed the Congress’ ‘overconfidence’ and ‘arrogant attitude’ during seat-sharing as the main reason for the defeat of the MVA alliance.

The BJP-led Mahayuti won a thumping majority by winning 230 out of 288 seats, while the MVA alliance comprising Congress, Sharad Pawar-led NCP and Uddhav Thackeray faction’s Shiv Sena won only 46 seats. Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Ambadas Danve said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi should have presented Uddhav Thackeray as the chief ministerial candidate. He indirectly took a dig at the Congress and said, “They were preparing to wear a suit and tie even before the results came out.” Danve said, “Congress was overconfident in Maharashtra after the Lok Sabha election results, as was also seen in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. Their attitude during seat-sharing harmed us. If Uddhav ji had been declared the chief ministerial face, the results would have been different.”

Differences in seat sharing and performance
In the last Lok Sabha elections, Congress had won the highest number of 13 seats among the MVA allies, which led it to demand more seats in the assembly elections. During this time, reports of differences within the alliance also surfaced. Congress fielded candidates on 103 seats, but won only 16. Shiv Sena (UBT) contested 89 seats and won 20 seats, while Sharad Pawar-led NCP contested 87 seats and won only 10 seats.

Danve also indicated that some of the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidates pointed to the need for improvement in the organisational structure. He said the party will now focus on strengthening itself and contesting all 288 seats in future.

Danve also took a dig at former Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde. He said, “BJP has many ‘Shindes’ in every state, whom it uses and throws away.” Discussions are now going on in the BJP-led Mahayuti about the post of Chief Minister. BJP has won the highest number of 132 seats, while Shinde faction’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP have secured 57 and 41 seats respectively. Amid the ongoing discussions about the post of Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said that he will accept the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership.