Maharashtra: BJP suffers setback, Oppn alliance bags 27 Lok Sabha seats

Mumbai: The BJP suffered a setback in Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, with its tally dwindling by almost half compared to 2019, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) was on a roll, set to pocket 27 of the 48 seats.

The BJP-led NDA in the state appeared falling significantly short of its target of bagging 45-plus seats in Maharashtra, going by the results and latest trends in counting of votes.

The BJP had won five and was leading in five other seats as of 9.30 pm on Tuesday. Its ally Shiv Sena won five and was ahead in two seats. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP bagged a seat, but his wife Sunetra Pawar faced defeat in Baramati from Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar.

The Congress won three and was leading in 10 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) won five and was leading in four seats. NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won a seat and was leading in six seats.

Vishal Patil, a Congressman-turned-independent won the Sangli seat. He later said he would abide by any decision the Congress takes about his re-entry in the party.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, the BJP won 23 seats while its then ally Shiv Sena (undivided) bagged 18. The then undivided NCP had bagged four constituencies, whereas the Congress could win just one seat.

The BJP-led NDA had set the bar high this time with a target to win 45 plus constituencies in Maharashtra.

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray said that the INDIA bloc would meet on Wednesday to decide the prime ministerial face for the alliance.

Thackeray said the common man had shown his power in the mandate, adding the opposition needed to stake claim to form government at the Centre.

The BJP-led NDA was trying to portray that they had the numbers to form the next government in the country, he said.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the NDA’s performance in the state was due to the Opposition’s “propaganda” that the BJP would change the Constitution after the polls.

“But in elections, the people’s mandate has to be accepted as it is. We will do deep introspection and will recover our loss in the next Assembly election,” Fadnavis posted on X.