Amit Shah tells Maharashtra BJP chief Ravindra Chavan to counter MVA narrative after Council poll setback

Legislative Council elections were held in Maharashtra a few days ago on five seats. The Maha Vikas Aghadi performed well and won three of the five. The Mahayuti had to settle for just two. The BJP won both teachers' constituencies, but it is being said that the Mahayuti paid a price for internal differences on the other three seats.

After the results, the Maha Vikas Aghadi appeared more confident. The outcome reached senior BJP leaders. BJP state president Ravindra Chavan then met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

At the meeting, Chavan also submitted a report on the work done during the Council elections. The two leaders discussed keeping the Mahayuti impregnable. Shah gave Chavan key instructions: reject the Maha Vikas Aghadi's narrative, give opponents a tit-for-tat reply, and counter-attack with full force as the Mahayuti. The meeting is being widely discussed in political circles.

What had happened in the Mahayuti during the election? Internal differences had come out into the open. Before the polls, the Shinde faction and the BJP pulled against each other over tickets. Both fielded candidates in the Pune teachers' constituency.

The effect was seen in the Pune teachers' and graduates' constituencies. The BJP won the teachers' seat, but its candidates lost in the graduates' seat. In the Marathwada graduates' constituency, the then sitting MLA from the Ajit Pawar faction also lost.

After the results, the BJP's Navnath Ban lashed out at the Shinde faction and blamed it for the Mahayuti's performance. In reply, the Shinde faction's Ravindra Dhangekar also gave Ban a blunt response, and then targeted top BJP leaders as well.