Bawankule downplays LS reverses, says people will vote for development in assembly polls

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Saturday said the vote difference in the Lok Sabha polls between the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi and the ruling alliance was just 0.3 per cent and exuded confidence people would vote for the BJP and its allies in Assembly polls since they know giving power to the MVA would stall welfare projects being carried out in the state by the Narendra Modi government.

Speaking about the MVA's press conference in Mumbai earlier in the day, he said too many leaders in the opposition ranks were vying for the chief minister's post.

''The difference in votes was just 0.3 per cent but some people are flying high calling it a big success. People will vote for the Mahayuti in the assembly polls since they know an MVA government will stop welfare schemes of the Modi government,'' he said in a swipe at the opposition.

Addressing their first press conference since Lok Sabha results were announced on June 4, Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Congress' Prithviraj Chavan had said the MVA would win the forthcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra.

Refuting Thackeray's claim that all segments of society voted for the MVA in the general elections, Bawankule said ''51 per cent of votes of the Shiv Sena (UBT) were from Muslims'', which he got due to his ''anti Hindu stand over the past two-and-half years''.

Queried on Solapur MP Praniti Shinde's allegations that there was a conspiracy to create riots in her area, the state BJP chief said such incidents took place when the Sharad Pawar-led (undivided) NCP and Congress used to be in power.

Asked about the state government giving sizable funds to the Wakf Board, Bawankule said the BJP's stand is that a lot of land belonging to private individuals, temples, backwards and tribals had been usurped by the body.

''We have demanded that land records be corrected and these plots be returned to the rightful owners,'' he asserted.

The MVA won 30 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the recent general elections, with the Congress emerging as the best performing party in the state with 13 seats. The BJP, however, saw its tally dip from 23 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to nine this time.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)