BJP, Shinde Sena Spar Over Council Poll Setbacks

The results triggered the war of words between the allies BJP and the Shinde Shiv Sena: Reports

MUMBAI: Defeats in Pune and Nagpur graduate constituencies in the Vidhan Parishad elections have laid bare the faultlines in the ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra. Both the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena have accused each other of betraying and not following alliance principles.

Out of five seats that went to polls in Maharashtra, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) won three seats, whereas the ruling Mahayuti alliance had to settle for two seats. The NCP (SP) candidate Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav and Pratapsingh Patil emerged winners in the Pune graduates and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Marathwada) graduates constituencies respectively, while Congress nominee Abhijeet Wanjari bagged the Nagpur graduates' seat. BJP nominee Kaustubh Gawade won the Pune teachers' constituency, while Shiv Sena contestant Kiran Sarnaik secured the Amravati teachers seat.

The results triggered the war of words between the allies BJP and the Shinde Shiv Sena. The BJP asserted that better coordination could have allowed the Mahayuti to sweep all five seats instead of winning just two. It accused Shinde Shiv Sena, of putting its own interests ahead of the coalition and failing to provide expected cooperation in Pune and Nagpur.

Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban alleged that the Shiv Sena did not provide expected support to the BJP in the Pune and Nagpur constituencies and its last-minute support to independent candidate Sachin Sanap in Pune (for teachers' seat) dented the Mahayuti's unity. Shiv Sena's support to Sanap did not translate into votes for the BJP in the Pune graduates' constituency, he added.

Ban also accused Shiv Sena minister Abdul Sattar of campaigning against the NCP in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, contributing to the alliance's setbacks.

In a post on X, Ban said, "Had the Shiv Sena adhered to the alliance principles and supported BJP and NCP, Mahayuti would have won all five seats. But by pursuing one seat in Pune, the Shiv Sena put its allies in difficulty and cost the alliance an opportunity to win three seats. Such a stand was not in the interest of the Mahayuti."

Maharashtra BJP vice-president Keshav Upadhye, called for a review of the council poll results. "Will we introspect as the Mahayuti after the results of the five seats? Will we ponder over why we stopped at two when there was a strong possibility of winning all five seats had we contested together?" he asked in a post on X.

However, the Shinde Shiv Sena hit back stating that the BJP needs to practice self-reflection and introspection rather than shifting blame onto its allies. It also blamed the saffron party for poor coordination and unfair seat distribution from the very beginning of the election process.

"Had the BJP nominated a loyal worker who had dedicated years of service and their entire life to the party, it would certainly have generated enthusiasm among the party's workers and voters. However, the decision to field an outsider created resentment among the BJP's loyal cadre. It was the BJP's own workers and voters who rejected the candidate. Therefore, blaming the Shiv Sena for this defeat is unjustified," he said.

Paranjpe publicly advised the BJP to drop its mindset of wanting to contest and win every single seat independently. He emphasized that as the 'elder brother' in the alliance, it is the BJP's responsibility to respect its partners (Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP) and maintain proper coordination.

He stated that the BJP wanted to contest both seats in Pune themselves despite having no sitting BJP MLC and refused to accommodate the Shiv Sena's insistence on getting at least one of those seats. He also claimed that grassroots leaders within the BJP did not work honestly or campaign in the interest of their alliance partners.