Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai: An RSS-affiliated Marathi weekly, ‘Vivek,’ has attributed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) poor performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls to its alliance with Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The weekly suggests that voter sentiments in Maharashtra turned against the BJP following this strategic shift.
According to a PTI report, ‘Vivek’ conducted an informal survey of 200 individuals from Mumbai, Konkan, and western Maharashtra to understand the reasons behind BJP’s setback in the elections. Maharashtra, which sends 48 members to the Lok Sabha, saw BJP’s seat tally plummet to nine from 23 in the 2019 elections.
The survey revealed that BJP members and voters disapproved of the party’s decision to align with Ajit Pawar, who split from his uncle Sharad Pawar’s NCP and joined the ‘Mahayuti’ coalition in July last year. Despite being recognized as the legitimate NCP faction by the Election Commission in February, Ajit Pawar’s group managed to win just one seat. Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, secured seven seats in the Lok Sabha.
The report highlighted discontent within the state BJP ranks, with members expressing their dissatisfaction over the alliance with NCP. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), won 30 out of 48 seats. Congress secured 13 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) bagged nine, and NCP (SP) got seven seats.
Criticism emerged against the BJP for drifting from its traditional partnerships to form an alliance with NCP. The report noted, “However, the sentiments went totally against the party (BJP) after it joined hands with the NCP. The question also arises about the future plans of the party when political arithmetic went against it because of the NCP.”
The article also raised concerns about BJP’s approach of inducting leaders from other parties, bypassing the traditional process of grooming talent within the organization. It emphasized the importance of internal party coordination and empowering BJP workers in decision-making processes, citing these factors as crucial to the party’s success in Madhya Pradesh, where BJP secured all 29 Lok Sabha seats.
