Bawankule takes responsibility for Nagpur Council poll loss, says BJP will find and fix mistakes

The BJP did not get the success it had expected in the Legislative Council election, and the party will now review the reasons for its defeat. State minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule took responsibility for the loss on the Nagpur seat. He said the party will identify its mistakes and try to correct them.

Bawankule was speaking to reporters in Pune. He said both the Nagpur and Pune seats were a matter of prestige for the BJP, and it was therefore necessary to analyse the reasons for the defeat.

He said it would also be examined which constituent parties of the Mahayuti had not worked as expected. If anyone is found to have been involved in anti-party activities, those concerned will be counselled, he said.

Asked about a statement by former MLA Ravindra Dhangekar, Bawankule said Dhangekar should exercise restraint and understand the mandate of the people of Maharashtra. He also appealed to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to counsel Dhangekar.

On the questions being raised about EVMs, Bawankule said the Bharatiya Janata Party has also won elections held with ballot papers. In his view, it is not right to call EVMs sound when one wins and faulty when one loses. He disagreed with the demand to scrap the electoral roll entirely and prepare it afresh. He also said a letter would be written to the Election Commission on the issue.

Speaking about MNS president Raj Thackeray's visit to Karjat, Bawankule said development projects like those there should come up at 50 places in the state. He added that protecting trees is also important alongside development.

Bawankule claimed that consumers are getting cheaper electricity from the Koyna project.

On the Rs 5,000 aid being given to farmers, he clarified that it is not the final assistance but an advance amount. He said the process of providing this aid is being reviewed at the tehsil level every Tuesday.