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Ajit Pawar defeated Yugendra by a margin of over 1 lakh votes to win his eighth term in Baramati.
Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar (PTI Image)
In his first reaction to the Maharashtra Assembly Poll results, Nationalist Congress Party (NCPSCP) patron Sharad Pawar on Sunday said that the mandate was not on the expected lines, but insisted that the decision was given by the people.
The NCP veteran further acknowledged the fact that the NCP faction led by his nephew and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar won more seats than the NCPSCP and said that everyone knows who made up the NCP.
Speaking to reporters in Karad, Pawar said, “I have to agree that Ajit Pawar got more seats than us, but Maharashtra knows who the founder of NCP is.”
Responding to a question about his retirement from active politics, Pawar curtly said that he and his party colleagues would decide.
Talking about the Baramati battle where Ajit Pawar defeated Sharad Pawar’s grandson Yugendra Pawar, Sharad Pawar said there was no comparison.
He said that putting his grandson in the field of housing was not a wrong decision because someone had to participate in the election. “Ajit Pawar and Yugendra Pawar cannot be compared. We all know this fact. Ajit Pawar has been in power for a long time”
Ajit Pawar defeated Yugendra by a margin of over 1 lakh votes to win his eighth term in Baramati.
Pawar suffered the worst defeat of his political career in the Maharashtra polls with his NCP faction winning only 10 seats in the 288-member House, while Ajit Pawar’s NCP won 41.
Pawar further said that the poll results seen in public life are unprecedented. He said the MVA was more confident after its success in the Lok Sabha elections, adding that more work needed to be done.
“We have been in public life for many years, we have never had such an experience, but now we will think about it, understand why it happened and will be in front of people with a new spirit. I have traveled to different districts of the country during the election campaign, be it my party, Shiv Sena (UBT) or Congress, everyone made a collective effort, but the results did not match the efforts made, there was no coordination anywhere,” he said.
Responding to a question about EVMs, a day after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut expressed doubts about the verdict for Mahayuti, Pawar said he would talk about EVMs only when he had official data.
Ladki Bahin scheme works for Mahayuti
Sharad Pawar further asserted that the Ladki Bahin scheme, women’s participation in voting in large numbers, and religious polarization may have played a major role in the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance’s victory in the Maharashtra polls.
“The Ladki Bahin scheme and religious polarization have played a role. The participation of women in large numbers could be the reason for sweeping Mahayuti in Maharashtra. We will study the reasons for this incident and take necessary steps,” he said.
Sharad Pawar also said that MVA has no power to claim the post of opposition leader.
Maharashtra Assembly Poll Results 2024
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti Alliance on Saturday scored a landslide victory over Maha Vikas Aghadi in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The unprecedented electoral sweep is a record win as no alliance has ever crossed the magic mark of 200 seats in the Maharashtra polls.
The ruling Mahayuti has won 234 of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra elections, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party, winning 132 seats on its own.
Shiv Sena defeated the faction led by Uddhav Thackeray with a total of 57 seats, while Shiv Sena (UBT) managed to win 20 seats. Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar suffered the worst political defeat of his career, as his party won only 10 seats and was far behind his nephew Ajit Pawar’s 41 seats.
(With inputs from PTI)
