CM Shinde has managed to clinch his stronghold Thane, where he fielded his close aide Naresh Mhaske. Pics/Sameer Abedi
Talking to reporters, CM Eknath Shinde said that the vote bank politics of the opposition had affected the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA's performance
"The opposition parties ran relentless propaganda that we would change the Constitution. We failed to clear the doubts among voters. Our losses are also due to vote bank politics," he said
The chief ministers also attributed delays in announcing candidates in some seats to the setbacks in some constituencies
CM Shinde was apparently referring to the Nashik Lok Sabha seat, where the Shiv Sena fielded Hemant Godse despite opposition from the BJP and NCP. Godse is trailing against the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde also changed his sitting MPs from the Hingoli and Yavatmal-Washim constituencies, and the party candidates are trailing in both seats
"The vote bank politics also affected us. I want to tell them (the opposition) that people have never liked vote bank politics. Late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray never liked it," he said
"People voted for the work my government has done in the last two years and 10 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. People of Thane have stood with us for our work," he said
The Congress-led INDIA bloc was leading in over 200 seats in early trends, a performance that appeared much better than what was predicted in the exit polls
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