BJP blames Shiv Sena for Mahayuti's poor showing in Council graduates, teachers polls

Results of the Legislative Council graduates' and teachers' constituency elections are out, and they showed a sharp contest between the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the Mahayuti. The Maha Vikas Aghadi won all 3 of the 3 graduates' seats and also took a Mahayuti seat in Marathwada. The ruling Mahayuti won both teachers' seats. The BJP wrested Pune, a traditional Congress seat, after 18 years. Since the Mahayuti got only two of the five seats, some leaders have expressed displeasure and said introspection is needed.

Meanwhile, the BJP has put the blame for the setback on its ally, the Shiv Sena. The BJP alleges that the Sena's role upset the Mahayuti's calculations. It says the Sena backed another candidate in Pune and campaigned against the Nationalist Congress Party in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and it has therefore raised some questions before the Sena. BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban targeted the Sena.

In a social media post, Ban wrote that in the teachers' and graduates' constituency elections, the ally Shiv Sena did not cooperate as expected in Pune and Nagpur. According to him, by backing Sachin Sanap at the last moment in Pune, the Sena dented the Mahayuti's unity. Ban said the votes Sanap received did not go to the BJP in the graduates' election. He also said that in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Abdul Sattar campaigned directly against the Nationalist Congress Party, which also caused a loss.

Ban said in the post that had the Sena honoured the Mahayuti's alliance obligations and stood with the BJP and the Nationalist Congress Party, the Mahayuti would have won all five seats. In his words, out of greed for one seat in Pune, the Sena put its allies in difficulty and lost the chance of victory on three seats. He added that a role in which allies are harmed for the sake of one seat is not in the Mahayuti's interest.

Giving figures, Ban said that in Pune, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena backed Sachin Sanap at the last moment. Sanap got about 11,000 to 12,000 votes. According to Ban, had these votes gone to the Bharatiya Janata Party, it would have won the Pune graduates' seat too. He said the Nationalist Congress Party's candidate in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was the official one, yet Abdul Sattar openly campaigned against the party. Ban said that where the Mahayuti could have won five-nil, it had to concede three seats.

Ban said that after winning only two seats, the Mahayuti needs some introspection. According to him, had Sanap not been backed at the last moment in Pune, the BJP might have won both Pune seats. Ban said Sanap was not the Sena's official candidate in Pune. The Sena had given the AB form to Mangesh Chivte, the party's official candidate, and Chivte withdrew his nomination. In Ban's words, the BJP believed there was coordination within the Mahayuti, but at the last moment the Sena backed Sanap, which confused voters and cost the Pune graduates' seat. Ban said that if the quota of 10,000 to 12,000 votes had been transferred to the BJP, it would have won the graduates' seat in the first round itself.

Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Dhangekar responded. He said the Sena is honouring the alliance. Where the Sena had an alliance, he said, it helped its allies out of friendship and in keeping with its responsibility, and there is no difference of opinion anywhere. According to Dhangekar, in a democracy election results are the people's mandate and must be accepted. He said graduates' and teachers' constituencies vote on the government's work, and if teachers voted against the government, it means they are angry.

Dhangekar also said that the BJP came to power when Eknath Shinde was chief minister, and that Eknath Shinde should be given another chance. He said BJP people talk a lot, but asked how right it is to speak about the Shiv Sena. According to Dhangekar, the Sena gave its support openly, not in secret. He asked whether they were falling short in finding coordination in friendship. Dhangekar reiterated that Eknath Shinde should be given the leadership again.