Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday criticised alliance partner Congress for its defeat in the Haryana assembly elections, saying the party believed it could win without the support of allies.
In an editorial in the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana, Raut claimed Congress had "turned a winning match into a loss" and attributed the party's defeat to "overconfidence" and the "arrogance" of local leaders.
The editorial particularly criticised Haryana Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda for his domineering role in candidate selection, which sidelined key figures like Kumari Selja.
This internal discord, it argued, weakened Congress’ organisational strength and led to a poor campaign
It also noted that while sentiment in Haryana was against the BJP, many expected a Congress landslide. However, the party’s internal strife was cited as one of the broader failures in capitalising on the anti-BJP atmosphere, the editorial claimed.
Everyone should learn from Congress over how to turn a winning match into a loss, the editorial said.
The editorial further issued a warning to Congress leaders in Maharashtra, urging them to learn from the party’s defeat in Haryana.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters, Raut alleged that the Congress relies on allies in weak regions but ignores them in its stronghold areas. "Wherever Congress is weak, it takes help from regional parties, but where it thinks it is strong, the Congress assigns no importance to regional parties," he said.
Raut doubled down that the poll outcome could have been different had the Congress contested it as part of an alliance.
"INDIA alliance could not win in Haryana because the Congress felt they would win on their own and they did not need any other partner in power. Congress leader Hooda Ji felt we would win. If they (Congress) had shared seats with the Samajwadi Party, AAP or other smaller parties, the results would have been different," he told ANI.
According to Raut, the Congress fell aside in Haryana due to deft election management by the BJP, which divided opposition votes.
"The way the BJP fought the elections is very good. BJP won a lost battle. Everybody believed the Congress was winning, but it still lost and the BJP won because it has a systematic system, management; we need it to give to them for this," the Sena (UBT) leader added.
Raut also drew parallels with the results in Jammu and Kashmir, noting that Congress won there by contesting in alliance with the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC).
"Both Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana had 90-90 constituencies. One 90 went to INDIA; the other went to the BJP... We won in JK because INDIA was contesting in the alliance with JKNC under Chief Farooq Abdullah," he said.
Rejecting talks that the Haryana poll verdict will have any bearing on the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, Raut once again appealed to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies to declare a chief ministerial face for the upcoming contest.
Reiterating the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s demand for declaring the CM face for Maharashtra elections, expected in November, Raut said, "In a state like Maharashtra, people want a leader. People cannot digest the policy that you first contest polls and declare the CM's face later."
Similarly, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also called for introspection from the Congress.
"The INDIA alliance fought very well in the J&K assembly elections and they are all set to form the government. In Haryana, Congress had to suffer defeat. Even after anti-incumbency, the BJP formed the government in Haryana. I congratulate them. Congress should introspect on the reasons for its defeat," she said.
BJP won 48 out of 90 seats in the Haryana assembly, while Congress managed to win 37 seats. Independents won 3 seats and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) secured 2 seats, according to ECI data issued on Tuesday.
Notably, the Sena (UBT), along with the Congress and NCP (SP), are part of the opposition's MVA in Maharashtra, which goes to polls later this year.
The position of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party becomes important amid talks over the seat-sharing formula in the MVA for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly polls.
The Election Commission of India has yet to announce the poll dates.
Earlier on Tuesday, Uddhav said that he will support the Chief Ministerial candidate announced by their alliance partners. "I say that Congress or NCP should declare the face of the Chief Minister and I will support them right now Because Maharashtra is important for us," he said.
