Maharashtra election: Devendra Fadnavis’ big remark, says BJP alone cannot win upcoming assembly polls, but…

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said on Sunday that the saffron party alone could not attain the majority mark in the upcoming Assembly polls in the state but would definitely emerge as the single largest party after the elections.

“BJP alone cannot win the state but it is also true that we have the most seats and the highest voting percentage. After the elections, the BJP will emerge as the single largest party in the state The consolidation of votes of all the three parties can only make us victorious,” the former chief minister said at an event.

The former Maharashtra chief minister, speaking at the NDTV Marathi Conclave, said one has to be practical about the ground reality. He expressed confidence that Mahayuti's allies, the BJP, the Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, could fight unitedly and win the Assembly elections.

When the former Maharashtra chief minister was quizzed about the disappointment among some BJP leaders who could not get tickets and the possibility of them turning rebellious, Fadnavis said, “One (party) cannot say that you want other parties’ votes but refuse to compromise on seat sharing. I feel sad for some of our aspiring candidates who could not be given a chance in this assembly elections.”

It is important to note that the BJP has declared candidates for 121 of the 288 constituencies in the state so far.

Reiterating his "vote-jihad" claim, the BJP leader said the unexpected result of the Mahayuti alliance in Lok Sa polls was the outcome of "vote-jihad" and that it "won't be effective in the assembly elections".

In this year's Lok Sabha polis, Mahayuti could win only 17 of the 48 seats in the state.

Fadnavis expressed confidence that the BJP would form the government with the help of Shiv Sena, NCP and the Republican Party of India.

“In the Dhule Lok Sabha constituency, our candidate was leading in five assembly segments, but the voting in the Malegaon-Central assembly constituency led to our defeat. However, it will not work in assembly polls as our candidates in those five seats will definitely win,” he said.

In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, BJP won 105 seats and its then ally Shiv Sena (undivided) 56. The NCP (undivided), which was part of the UPA, bagged 54 constituencies and Congress 44.

Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.