Pune, Oct 29 Maharashtra minister and senior BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday said his party would introspect over its defeat in the Nagpur Graduates’ constituency in the recently held Legislative Council polls and review if any Mahayuti alliance partner failed to work for the candidates.
The BJP had attached importance to the Nagpur graduates and Pune seats and had planned extensively to win them, Bawankule said, adding that the party had accepted the electoral outcome.
Taking personal responsibility for the defeat in Nagpur, where he was the in-charge, Bawankule said, “We tried hard and our party workers and leaders met the voters from the Graduates’ constituency. However, there seem to have been some shortcomings. We will introspect to understand the reasons for the defeat.”
Asked whether the Shiv Sena had failed to support the BJP as a Mahayuti ally, Bawankule said, “Instead of a blame game, we will review which partner of the Mahayuti did not work in favour of the alliance candidate.”
Referring to the Amravati constituency, Bawankule said Shiv Sena leader and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had sought BJP’s help, following which the party’s MLAs and MPs campaigned for the alliance candidate.
“Our MLAs and MPs went to Amravati and campaigned for their candidate. However, in some places, the alliance coordination could not be seen. The three Mahayuti partners will deliberate on this,” he said.
Bawankule said the alliance would examine whether instructions issued by the respective party leaderships were followed at the grassroots level and whether anyone had worked against the party line or the understanding among the coalition partners.
“We will see whether the clear instructions from the party leadership were followed at the ground level. We will identify those who worked against the party line or the Mahayuti understanding and issue a reprimand,” he said.
On the Pune Teachers’ constituency, Bawankule said it saw an openly acknowledged friendly fight between alliance partners and the BJP had won the seat. The Shiv Sena had backed an independent candidate on the seat.
The BJP would, however, review instances in other constituencies where alliance partners may not have honoured the understanding to support each other’s candidates, Bawankule added.
Polling for Pune Graduates’, Nagpur Graduates’, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’, Pune Teachers’ and Amravati Teachers’ constituencies took place on October 23, while vote counting began on October 27. Results were declared on October 28.
The Mahayuti’s main constituents are BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Sunetra Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.
(PTI News)
