MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has blamed internal rifts, last-minute decisions, and ego clashes among Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies for the alliance’s poor performance in the last Maharashtra Assembly elections, despite their impressive showing in the Lok Sabha polls just five months earlier.
In an interview to the party mouthpiece Saamana, Thackeray said the MVA lost focus after the Lok Sabha results, with partners pursuing individual agendas instead of following a united strategy. He said this shift led to confusion among voters and weakened the alliance’s messaging.
“After the Lok Sabha polls, the MVA became a battleground for individual party interests. This led to confusion, weak messaging, and ultimately, defeat,” he said.
He criticised the chaotic seat-sharing negotiations, revealing that in many constituencies, candidates were finalised at the eleventh hour. This forced
Shiv Sena (UBT) to give up long-held seats and gave rise to avoidable friction among allies. “That led to squabbling and sent the wrong signal to voters,” he said.
He, then added, “It was a mistake that has to be rectified. There is no point staying together if such mistakes are to be made in the future.”
Thackeray also questioned the effectiveness of the flurry of populist promises made during the campaign. He suggested the strategy backfired, diluting the alliance’s core message. He accused the ruling MahaYuti alliance of electoral manipulation, referring to what he called an “EVM scam,” inflated voter lists, and suspicious spikes in turnout numbers.
Uddhav Thackeray also said that misleading schemes like ‘Ladki Bahin’ swayed public opinion, but insisted the MVA cannot escape accountability. “We must also accept our own mistakes instead of deflecting blame,” he said.
The ex-CM added that the MVA had failed to communicate the achievements of its time in government, particularly its performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. “When states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat struggled, Maharashtra managed well. But we failed to take that message to the people,” he said. The alliance had an impressive show in the Lok Sabha polls months earlier.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the MVA had secured 30 of Maharashtra’s 48 seats. But the Assembly elections proved a reversal. The BJP-led MahaYuti alliance swept 230 of 288 seats, with BJP winning 132, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena 57, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP 41. In contrast, Shiv Sena (UBT) won just 20, NCP (SP) 16, and Congress 10.