'Congress was overconfident, if they had projected Uddhav...': Open fight in MVA after blow in Maharashtra

After a humiliating blow in the Maharashtra assembly polls, a blame game has begun in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). On Thursday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve blamed Congress for the drubbing in Maharashtra. He said the Congress was overconfident after the Lok Sabha elections, in which the MVA bagged 30 of 48 seats. The Congress won the highest 13 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. 

Danve said Congress leaders in Maharashtra were ready with "coats and ties to divide portfolios." "Had they projected Uddhav Thackeray as the Chief Minister, election results would have been different, number of votes would have been higher," he said while speaking to news agency ANI.  

Danve revealed that a section of Sena (UBT) workers now believes the party should exit the MVA alliance and contest future elections independently. According to him, these sentiments were voiced over the past three days by Sena (UBT) candidates, regardless of whether they succeeded or failed in the recent assembly polls. 

"There is a strong feeling among a large section of the party to fight elections on our own. It doesn’t matter whether Shiv Sena (UBT) gains power or not. This party wasn’t established to seize power; it was founded on ideology," said Danve, who also serves as the Leader of Opposition in the legislative council.

The MVA, comprising Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP), and Congress, suffered a humiliating defeat, securing only 46 out of 288 assembly seats. In contrast, the ruling Mahayuti combine of BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP registered a resounding victory by winning 230 seats.  

State Congress president Nana Patole responded to Danve’s remarks, saying, “Everyone has the right to express one's views.” Similarly, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, who served as the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, pointed out that many within the Congress also supported contesting elections alone. "But that cannot be the decision of the party. We are in the process of analysing the result and causes of our defeat," he said. 

Meanwhile, Congress leader Amit Deshmukh urged restraint, saying, "All MVA allies are analysing what went wrong, and hence it is not proper to make comments beforehand."