BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule accuses MVA of deceptive politics in Maharashtra polls

Chandrashekhar Bawankule. File Pic

On Thursday, Maharashtra BJP chairman Chandrashekhar Bawankule stated that opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders engaged in deceitful politics, akin to "Shakuni neeti," to mislead the state's people and win the Lok Sabha elections. He expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win the upcoming elections with its emphasis on development.

Speaking to reporters at Nagpur airport about the Lok Sabha election results, Bawankule remarked that the MVA's triumph through misleading techniques will not influence people in the forthcoming elections. He emphasised that people will vote for development over casteism.

"The MVA won through 'Shakuni neeti' (Machiavellian policy), but this election result would not have an impact on the upcoming polls and people will vote in the name of development and not casteism," the BJP leader said.

Regarding Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' offer to quit following the BJP's decreased Lok Sabha tally in Maharashtra, Bawankule stated that the party's core group, including MLAs, MPs, leaders, and workers, urged Fadnavis to continue leading the state.

Bawankule stated that BJP MPs, state presidents, and other leaders were invited to a critical parliamentary board meeting in Delhi on Friday.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the MVA, which included the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), won 30 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra. On the other side, the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, gained 17 seats. The BJP's seat count in the state fell from 23 to 9.

Bawankule accused MVA leaders of misleading backward communities by implying that the Constitution was under threat and wrongly stating that the BJP would take away their rights. He saw that similar false myths were promoted across tribal and Maratha communities, promoting caste politics.

"But the BJP, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had asked for votes for a developed Bharat, and the opposition INDIA alliance and MVA indulged in caste-based politics, which will not last much and people will understand the lies being spread by the INDIA alliance," he said.

Despite the defeat, Bawankule emphasised the BJP's commitment to development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. He chastised the MVA for prioritising caste politics over development projects. Bawankule emphasised the importance of introspection inside the BJP about the reasons behind its election setbacks. He also advised Maharashtra's Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to assess the issues that contributed to their defeat in the elections.

"We will introspect on the reasons and make course correction. However, one thing is certain that the MVA, through its 'Shakuni neeti' misled and confused the voters, it did not speak about development and indulged in caste-based politics in the campaign," he claimed.