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Ajit Pawar defeated Yugendra by a margin of over 1 lakh votes to win the eighth term in Baramati.
Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar (PTI Image)
In his first reaction over Maharashtra Assembly Poll results, Nationalist Congress Party (NCPSCP) patron Sharad Pawar on Sunday said that the mandate not on the expected lines but stressed that it was a decision given by the people.
The NCP veteran further acknowledged the fact that the faction of NCP led by his nephew and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar won way more seats than the NCPSCP and said that everyone knew who founded the NCP.
While speaking to the reporters in Karad, Pawar said, “I must agree that Ajit Pawar has got more seats than us, but Maharashtra knows who is the founder of NCP.”
Responding to a query on his retirement from active politics, Pawar tersely said he and his party colleagues will decide.
Speaking on the Baramati battle where Ajit Pawar defeated Sharad Pawar’s grandnephew Yugendra Pawar, Sharad Pawar said there was no comparison between them.
He said fielding his grandnephew on the home turf wasn’t a wrong decision as someone had to contest the elections. “Ajit Pawar and Yugendra Pawar cannot be compared. We were aware of 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 the eighth term in Baramati.
Pawar suffered the worst-ever defeat in his political career in Maharashtra polls with the NCP faction led by him winning only 10 seats in the 288-member House, while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP bagged 41.
Pawar further said that the poll outcome he had witnessed in his public life was unprecedented. He said the MVA was more confident after achieving success in Lok Sabha elections, adding that more work needs to be done.
“We have been in public life for many years, we have never had such an experience, but now that we have, we will think about it, understand why it happened and will go in front of the people with a new enthusiasm. I have travelled to different districts of the state during election campaigning, whether it is my party, Shiv Sena (UBT) or Congress, everyone made collective efforts, but the result did not match the efforts we made, there was no lack of coordination anywhere,” he said.
Responding to a query on EVMs, a day after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut expressed doubts over the verdict in Mahayuti’s favour, Pawar said he would speak about EVMs only if he has official data.
Ladki Bahin scheme worked for Mahayuti
Sharad Pawar further emphasised that the Ladki Bahin scheme, women’s participation in voting in large numbers, and religious polarisation might have played a major role in BJP-led Mahayuti alliance’s landslide victory in Maharashtra assembly polls.
“The Ladki Bahin scheme and religious polarisation played a role. Women’s participation in large numbers could be the reason for the Mahayuti sweep in Maharashtra. We will study the reasons for the debacle and take necessary steps,” he said.
Sharad Pawar also said that MVA did not have the strength to stake claim to the Leader of Opposition post.
Maharashtra Assembly Poll Results 2024
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance on Saturday scored a massive and astonishing 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 bested the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction with a tally of 57 seats, while Shiv Sena (UBT) managed to win 20 seats. Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar suffered the worst political defeat in his career, as his party won only 10 seats and lagged far behind his nephew Ajit Pawar’s camp’s tally of 41.
(With inputs from PTI)
