Mumbai: Following the defeat in the Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections, Minister of Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Protection & NCP MLA Chhagan Bhujbal has made a controversial statement taking a jibe at BJP, which is their ally in the Mahayuti alliance. Maharashtra Minister Bhujbal while speaking to media on Friday said, "In the Lok Sabha elections, we (NCP) were allotted only 4 out of 48 seats. Out of these 4 seats, 2 were taken from us. Later, we won just 1 seat from Raigad and Baramati."
Further taking an indirect jibe at BJP's failure in Uttar Pradesh, Bhujbal continued, "How can anyone say that we contested 48 seats but secured only 2 seats? The BJP also faced losses in other states, like Uttar Pradesh. No one expected the BJP to get so few seats in Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, blaming the Ajit Pawar faction is not justified."
The NCP leader seemed rattled over allegations against his party chief after the poor performance of their party in the recent Lok Sabha Polls. Also, despite multiple demands, NCP was denied a ministerial berth which later fuelled anger among the party leaders.
NCP Allies Skipped Attending Sunetra Pawar's RS Nomination
Meanwhile on Thursday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife, Sunetra, filed her nomination for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections as an NCP candidate. This comes shortly after her defeat in the Baramati Lok Sabha election. Interestingly, apart from NCP leaders, no political figure from the ruling Mahayuti coalition, which includes Ajit Pawar's faction's allies, BJP and Shiv Sena was present when Sunetra Pawar filed her nomination at the Vidhan Bhavan in South Mumbai.
During the nomination process, senior NCP leaders such as Rajya Sabha member Praful Patel, Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, the state unit president and newly elected Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare and Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal were present. Bhujbal mentioned that although he was interested in contesting the Rajya Sabha elections, he is not upset about Sunetra Pawar’s nomination, describing it as a collective decision by the party.
Bhujbal's remarks highlighted the internal dynamics and the challenges faced by the NCP in the recent elections. Despite the setbacks, he stressed on the broader political context, pointing out that electoral losses are not unique to the NCP but have also affected major parties like the BJP in different states.
