BJP's Chandrakant Patil believes that Uddhav Thackeray needs to introspect as his alliance with Congress and NCP has helped the latter in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. He said Uddhav made great efforts during the Lok Sabha election campaign, but the allies Congress and NCP (SP) benefitted more than his party.
Uddhav's Shiv Sena was the worst performer - in terms of strike rate - in the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) alliance. Sena could win only 9 seats out of 21 it contested, while Congress bagged 13 of 17, and NCP won 8 of 10. In the last parliamentary elections, the undivided Shiv Sena had won 18 of the 23 seats it contested, while BJP had bagged 23 of 25.
Patil said Thackeray was not keeping well but he still campaigned hard. "Uddhav Thackeray's health was not in good condition, still he took a lot of effort. I was worried about his health. However, the outcome indicates that NCP (SP) and Congress benefitted more from his efforts than his own party."
"When Thackeray was with BJP, his party had won 18 Lok Sabha seats. With Congress and NCP (SP), he ended up winning nine seats. He needs to introspect," the Maharashtra minister said. He also taunted Thackeray saying, "Thackeray also earned a tag of winning due to the votes of minorities. An MNS leader has also put it succinctly, saying the colour of Uddhav's victory is not saffron but green."
Meanwhile, Thackeray on Wednesday held meetings with party leaders and office-bearers and asked them to prepare for the assembly elections, due later this year. Elections are also due for the Maharashtra Legislative Council. As per the seat-sharing deal finalised for the council polls which will be held on June 26, the Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest Mumbai Graduates' constituency, Mumbai Teachers' constituency, and Nashik Teachers' constituency, while the Congress will fight the Konkan Graduates' constituency.