Mumbai, Oct 29 Maharashtra minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Thursday said the Legislative Council election results called for serious introspection by the ruling Mahayuti alliance and his own party.
Describing the voters as educated and politically aware, he said they were moving away from the NCP and their views could influence a wider section of the public.
Of the five graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies of the council which went to the polls on October 23, the Opposition MVA won three, while the BJP-led ruling Mahayuti alliance bagged two.
The Congress won a close contest in the Nagpur Graduates’ constituency, while its ally NCP (SP) bagged the Pune and Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) Graduates’ seats. The BJP and its ally Shiv Sena won the Pune and Amravati Teachers’ constituencies.
Referring to the NCP’s performance, Bhujbal said the alliance must examine where it had gone wrong and take corrective measures. In the Aurangabad Graduates’ seat, NCP’s sitting MLC Satish Chavan lost to Pratapsinh Patil of NCP (SP).
“These results call for serious introspection by the Mahayuti as well as our own party, the Ajit Pawar faction. We must reflect on where we are going wrong and whether we can correct those mistakes,” he said.
Bhujbal said that graduates and teachers, who are informed, educated and politically aware, had voted in the elections, and their views could influence a wider section of the public.
“The voters in this election were graduates and teachers. They understand what is happening around them, and their views can have a large-scale impact. We need to analyse why such voters are moving away from us,” he said.
He said every constituent of the Mahayuti, which comprises the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena, needed to undertake an “honest and rigorous self-assessment”.
Asked about the NCP’s internal review and the appointment of late Baba Siddique’s son Zeeshan Siddique as the party’s Mumbai president, Bhujbal said he had no official information about the decision and had learnt of it only through the media.
“I don’t know about it. I have only heard about it through the media, so I have nothing to say on the matter,” he said.
He also backed his senior colleague Praful Patel’s call for introspection within the party while criticising what he described as selective consultation in decision-making.
“What Praful Patel said is absolutely right. We need introspection. But they consult some people when they need to, and not others,” Bhujbal said.
Patel had on Wednesday called for an immediate review of the party’s priorities and organisational structure as Satish Chavan appeared to be losing from the Aurangabad Graduates’ constituency.
In a post on X, Patel said the results were a clear and significant warning for the party and stressed the need for introspection to regain people’s trust and realign priorities.
There have been indications of a rift within the NCP following then party chief and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s death earlier this year. Pawar’s son Parth Pawar was reportedly playing a dominant role while Patel and another senior leader Sunil Tatkare were sidelined.
Earlier, he had expressed regret that the party could not get the Pune graduates’ seat while discussing seat-sharing with its Mahayuti allies BJP and Shiv Sena.
(PTI News)
