'Fatwas helped Shiv Sena (UBT) in Mumbai': Eknath Shinde loyalist on Mahayuti's Lok Sabha debacle

Deepak Kesarkar, Maharashtra minister and Eknath Shinde loyalist, made a huge claim regarding Shiv Sena (UBT)'s win in the Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai. Kesarkar said that fatwas helped the rival Shiv Sena win in Mumbai.

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won 7 out of the 15 Lok Sabha seats it contested in Maharashtra. Of the 6 Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) won 3 whereas the Congress, BJP and Shiv Sena got 1 each.

"The fatwas helped Shiv Sena (UBT) win seats in Mumbai. If you deduct that (minority votes), every Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate would have been defeated by over 1-1.5 lakh votes," Kesarkar said. 

He further claimed that the Muslim voters were convinced that Uddhav Thackeray has 'forsaken' the Hindutva ideology and the ideals of Bal Thackeray. Deepak Kesarkar also alleged that Shiv Sena (UBT) falsely claimed that Marathi voters are not supporting the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. 

He further said that the Shinde-led Shiv Sena got the support of Mumbaikars and Marathi voters alike. The Maharashtra minister also alleged that "a conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan to undermine Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

“Two ministers in Pakistan advocated for Modi’s defeat and, regrettably, some individuals here paid heed to their calls,” he claimed. He added that the opposition also misled the Dalit communities with their false claim of the Constitution being changed. 

The BJP-led NDA fell short of its target of 45-plus seats in the seat as it won only 17 seats. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) secured win on 31 out of the 28 seats in Maharashtra.