After Council poll loss, Shinde tells Sena leaders no infighting in Mahayuti, asks for report on errors

Friction has begun within the Mahayuti after the results of the Legislative Council elections. The Mahayuti won only 2 of the five seats, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi registered big wins on 3. Tension between the BJP and the Shinde faction has risen sharply since.

BJP leaders have alleged that the defeat in this election was due to the Shinde Sena. Leaders of the Shinde faction and the BJP are now seen trading sharp charges and counter-charges.

Against this backdrop, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has given important instructions to his leaders and office-bearers. At a meeting on Thursday, he told leaders that "there should be no wrestling among friends". He advised party leaders and office-bearers to work in coordination with allies. Shinde directed Shiv Sena leaders not to take forward the dispute that has arisen in the Mahayuti after the results.

Shinde told office-bearers that, as the Mahayuti, they should reflect on these results and ensure that mistakes are not repeated. He said it was for them to take care that resentment does not creep into the alliance and that opponents do not benefit from internal disputes.

Shinde has also asked local office-bearers for a detailed report on what mistakes were made and where the shortcomings lay while working as the Mahayuti in this election. He made it clear that this would be discussed in detail at a meeting of the Mahayuti coordination committee and at a meeting of senior leaders.

For now, Shinde has asked party spokespersons and office-bearers not to criticise the ally while speaking to the media, to avoid mutual differences and to unite and get back to work.

A social media post attributed to Navnath Ban makes several points about the Shiv Sena. According to the post, in the teachers' and graduates' constituency elections, the ally Shiv Sena did not cooperate as expected in Pune and Nagpur. The post says that in Pune, by backing Sachin Sanap at the last moment, the Shiv Sena dealt a blow to Mahayuti unity, and the votes he received did not go to the BJP in the graduates' election.

The post also says that in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Abdul Sattar campaigned directly against the Nationalist Congress Party, which also caused damage. According to the post, had the Shiv Sena honoured Mahayuti dharma and backed the BJP and the NCP, the Mahayuti would have won all five seats. It says that, out of greed for one seat in Pune, the Shiv Sena put its allies in difficulty and lost the chance of winning three seats, and that an approach of harming allies for a single seat is not in the Mahayuti's interest.