MUMBAI: After an RSS ideologue said that the alliance with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP was a factor behind the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll setback in Maharashtra, NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday said the deputy chief minister should not be made a scapegoat. “BJP lost badly in Uttar Pradesh also. How did it happen when Ajit Pawar was not there?” Bhujbal asked.
He attributed Mahayuti’s loss to the BJP’s ‘Abki bar 400 paar’ slogan. “Due to this slogan, Dalit and Muslim voters distanced themselves from Mahayuti. The Opposition peddled the ‘change Constitution, end reservation’ narrative, which damaged our poll prospects. Maharashtra CM Ekanth Shinde is also saying it,” he said.
In a write-up in RSS mouthpiece Organiser, Sangh ideologue Ratan Sharda said the tie-up with the Ajit-led NCP diminished the “brand value” of the BJP, which led to the ruling alliance’s poll drubbing. Ajit refused to comment on the article.
NCP minister Hasan Mushriff said RSS-BJP should not put the blame on Ajit for the poll debacle. “By blaming each other will not solve the problem. Passing on the buck should not happen if we are in an alliance,” Mushruff said.
Sharad Pawar-led NCP MLA Rohit Pawar said the blame game shows that the BJP wants to ditch Ajit ahead of state assembly elections. “There is a systematic campaign against Ajit Pawar by RSS-BJP and its eco system. BJP and Shinde-led Sena leaders were absent when Sunetra Pawar (Ajit’s wife) filed her nomination for Rajya Sabha polls. It shows that BJP is trying to distance itself from Ajit,” the MLA said.