MVA need not fret over poll defeat; people not enthused by Mahayuti victory: Pawar

KOLHAPUR: NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the Opposition should not lose heart over its rout but go back to the people who do not seem to be enthused by the massive victory of the BJP-led Mahayuti in the Maharashtra elections.

The Opposition's priority would be to ensure that all the election promises made by the ruling alliance, including increasing the financial assistance to women under the Ladki Bahin scheme from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100, are implemented at the earliest, he said.

Pawar said a comparison between votes polled and seats won by political parties in the Maharashtra assembly polls was surprising.

"It is true that we have been defeated. We should not fret over it but go back to the people, as no enthusiasm is visible among the people about the election results. There is a lot of resentment," the senior politician said at a press conference here.

The ruling BJP-NCP-Shiv Sena alliance won 230 out of 288 seats in the November 20 elections.

The Opposition's strength in the assembly is low, but many young Opposition MLAs will show their mettle after a couple of sessions, Pawar said.

To a question on Samajwadi Party's state chief Abu Asim Azmi announcing that his party was pulling out of the Opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance after the Shiv Sena (UBT) hailed, in a newspaper advertisement, those who demolished the Babri Masjid, Pawar sought to play down the development.

The central leadership of the Akhilesh Yadav-led party was of the firm view that the Opposition's unity is necessary, he said.

Opposition parties can not demand that a Leader of Opposition must be appointed as they do not have the required numbers, Pawar said.

None of the Opposition parties, including Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP), Congress or Sena (UBT) individually, have the minimum 29 MLAs — ten per cent of the assembly's strength — to be eligible for the post.

Pawar, however, noted that in the 1980s, when his own party was reduced to just six MLAs following defections, he still became the Leader of the Opposition for a year, followed by Mrinal Gore and Nihal Ahmed as the Opposition decided to rotate the post.

To a question about the row over a wad of Rs 500 notes being found in the Rajya Sabha, Pawar, himself a member of the Upper House, said there should be a probe as to how the bundle made its way to the seat of an MP (Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi) who is an established and renowned lawyer.

Pawar said the comparison between votes polled and seats won by political parties in Maharashtra assembly polls was surprising.

"Congress polled 80 lakh votes and won 15 seats while Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena bagged 79 lakh votes and emerged victorious on 57 seats," he said.

Ajit Pawar's NCP polled 58 lakh votes and won 41 seats, whereas the NCP (SP) secured 72 lakh votes and won only ten seats, he said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated that as a senior leader, Pawar shouldn't mislead the country.

"You will come out of this if you accept defeat. I expect you to give your colleagues advice on introspection," he stated on X.

Fadnavis said BJP polled 1,49,13,914 votes and bagged nine seats in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections, whereas Congress polled 96,41,856 votes and bagged 13 seats.

Shiv Sena (UBT) got 73,77,674 votes and won 7 seats, while NCP (SP) polled 58,51,166 votes and won 8 constituencies, he said.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress polled 87,92,237 votes and won only one seat while the undivided NCP secured 83,87,363 votes but won 4 seats, he added.