New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the people of Maharashtra rejected the politics of betrayal and dynasty in the 2024 assembly elections, sending veteran politician Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray “home”. Shah attributed the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition’s resounding victory to the public’s desire for stability and transparent governance.
Addressing a BJP state convention in Shirdi, Shah asserted that the 2024 elections marked a decisive end to the era of “betrayal and treachery” allegedly practised by Sharad Pawar since 1978. “People showed Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray their place in the 2024 polls. They sent both home and made the real Shiv Sena and NCP victorious along with BJP,” Shah said.
Shah criticises Pawar for beginning the ‘politics of instability’
The Mahayuti coalition, comprising the BJP, NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), secured 230 of the 288 assembly seats, with the BJP leading the charge by winning 132. In stark contrast, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance was reduced to just 46 seats, with NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) and Shiv Sena (UBT) managing only 10 and 20 seats, respectively.
Shah criticised Sharad Pawar for allegedly beginning the “politics of instability” in Maharashtra in 1978 when he broke away from the Vasantdada Patil government with 40 MLAs to become chief minister. According to Shah, the BJP’s victory has not only ended this legacy but also rejected Uddhav Thackeray’s 2019 decision to part ways with the BJP over the chief ministerial post.
“The people have decisively ended the politics of instability, betrayal, and dynasty,” Shah said, calling the 2024 election results a historic mandate for change.
BJP’s victory shook confidence of INDIA bloc
Shah also criticised Sharad Pawar’s tenure as Union Agriculture Minister, claiming he failed to address farmer suicides despite holding multiple influential positions. “Only the BJP can prevent farmer suicides. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has introduced numerous schemes for the welfare of farmers,” Shah said.
The Union home minister asserted that the BJP’s victory in Maharashtra had shaken the confidence of the opposition INDIA bloc, stating that its decline had already begun. “Shiv Sena (UBT) is going solo in Maharashtra local body polls. AAP and Congress are contesting separately in Delhi. The cracks in the opposition alliance are evident,” Shah said.
He expressed confidence in BJP’s performance in upcoming elections, particularly in Delhi, stating, “Keep your firecrackers ready for February 8, as BJP will win Delhi.”
