Shiv Sena (UBT) blames Congress for MVA's loss in Maharashtra polls, says its ally was 'overconfident'

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Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Ambadas Danve on Thursday criticised the Congress for its "overconfidence," which he claimed adversely affected the Maha Vikas Aghadi's (MVA) performance in the Maharashtra polls.

According to news agency ANI, while speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Danve said that Congress exhibited overconfidence after the Lok Sabha Elections, which was evident in every region where it contested.

"It is true that Congress was overconfident. After the Lok Sabha elections, wherever elections were held - be it in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, or Maharashtra - this overconfidence was apparent. Rahul Gandhi and Congress worked hard during the Lok Sabha elections, and the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc saw some success, but they were overconfident," he said.

According to ANI, Danve also pointed out that MVA had been bogged down by seat-sharing negotiations until the very last day, instead of engaging with the public.

"We remained stuck in seat-sharing discussions until the very last day, whereas those days should have been spent engaging with the public. Some seats should have been allocated to Shiv Sena, but Congress was simply unwilling to agree. Congress behaved as if the Chief Minister's oath-taking ceremony was all that mattered to them," Danve said.

He further emphasised that had his party President Uddhav Thackeray's name been projected as the Chief Minister, the outcome could have been different.

"Uddhav Ji's name should have been put forward for the Chief Minister's (CM) position. If he had been projected as the CM candidate from the beginning, it could have brought a significant change in the results," he said.

According to ANI, Danve also highlighted the case of the Sambhajinagar seat, where Shiv Sena had been active for the past five years but it was instead handed to Congress, which should have won it.

"After the Lok Sabha elections, Congress members were already preparing to wear suits and ties, thinking about which departments they would get. They weren't even discussing the election results," Danve remarked.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader stated that they would now focus on strengthening their party in all 288 assembly seats across Maharashtra.

"Shiv Sena members have demanded that we should strengthen the party in all the 288 seats, and preparations for this should start immediately. The organisation will be strengthened across all 288 seats. Shiv Sena has never compromised on Hindutva and never will. Shiv Sena does not need to be taught Hindutva by anyone. However, we believe that Hindutva does not mean disrespecting other parties," he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the largest party with 132 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, while its allies - Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Ajit Pawar - secured 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

MVA suffered a significant defeat in the Maharashtra polls. Shiv Sena (UBT) won only 20 seats, while Congress secured 16, and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) managed 10.

(With ANI inputs)