BJP’s ‘arrogance’ among reasons for its defeat in WB polls: Sena

The Shiv Sena on Tuesday claimed the BJP’s ”arrogance” was among the reasons for its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls. An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ also said the BJP’s “intolerance” was responsible for it being out of power in Maharashtra. The comments came days after Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil reportedly asked state NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal to weigh his words while speaking about the saffron party. Bhujbal had made certain remarks about the BJP in the context of the recent West Bengal polls, where the saffron party was defeated by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC).

“When did Maharashtra become so intolerant?” the editorial asked. After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, long-terms allies Shiv Sena and BJP parted ways over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post. The Shiv Sena later tied-up with the NCP and Congress to form the state government.

On Sunday, the TMC romped home in West Bengal, pocketing 213 of the 292 Assembly seats that went to polls, while the BJP got 77 seats. The editorial said Bhujbal had praised Banerjee for her resounding victory, and asked what is wrong in that. “The BJP’s arrogance was among the reasons for its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls,” the Marathi daily said. Due to the defeat in West Bengal, the BJP is not ready to enjoy its win in the Pandharpur Assembly bypoll in Maharashtra, the Sena said. In a setback to the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, BJP candidate Samadhan Autade on Sunday won the by-election to Pandharpur-Mangalvedha Assembly seat in Solapur by defeating his nearest NCP rival by a margin of over 3,700 votes. “The MVA lost the Pandharpur bypoll and everyone congratulated the BJP and the winning candidate. But, no MVA leader threatened those who congratulated the winner,” the editorial said.