The BJP has ruled out any change in its leadership in Maharashtra, where the party had its second worst setback after Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha electiions. “There will be no change in leadership in Maharashtra,” Union Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters this evening after key leaders of the Maharashtra unit met party chief JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The BJP won just nine seats in Maharashtra in the recent Lok Sabha elections, down from its 2019 tally of 22.
The tally was seen as a manifestation of the people’s disapproval of the political shake-up over the last few years and the BJP’s role in it.
The tremors had started with Uddhav Thackeray’s breaking ranks with the NDA and joining hands with Sharad Pawar and the Congress after the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
But before the newly formed Maha Vikas Aghadi could stake claim to form government, Devendra Fadnavis made an attempt to form government with the help of Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar and a few of his loyalists.
Three years later, the Shiv Sena split, pulling down the MVA government, and rebel leader Eknath Shinde formed government with the BJP, becoming the Chief Minister. He had subsequently let slip that the plan was formed with the help of the BJP.
It was followed by the split in the NCP. In both cases, the Election Commission granted the party name and symbol to the rebels.
The verdict made the people’s disapproval clear. Both Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP won a huge mandate, and the Congress too benefited.
In 2019, the BJP – allied with the undivided Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray – won 23 of 25 Lok Sabha seats it contested in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena contested 23 and won 18. This time, the BJP won just nine seats. Its allies — the splinter units of the Sena led by Eknath Shinde and NCP led by Ajit Pawar — won eight of the 19 seats they contested.
