"No need of certificate from 'Maha Vinash Aghadi": BJP takes jibe at MVA

"The Bharatiya Janata Party and the NDA government do not need the certificate of the 'Maha Vinash Aghadi'. The people have given the mandate and the NDA government has received the certificate of the people...," Shaina NC said in a video statement on Saturday.

Hitting out at the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the opposition coalition in Maharashtra, Shaina said that the undivided Shiv Sena could do away with their ideology for the sake of power.

"These 'Maha Vinash Aghadi' people talk big here, perhaps they have forgotten that if they can cancel their ideology for the allure of power, then they should not give us a speech here," she sad.

Slamming Uddhav Thackeray for his raising apprehensions about the tenure of the NDA government at the Centre, Shaina pointed out that the ruling NDA government has won 300 seats in total and hence he should not be worried.

"The Bharatiya Janata Party has got 240 seats under the leadership of PM Modi and crossed 300 with the NDA. So don't worry about us. Think about Maharashtra because you are so desperate for power that you can't make any statement...," she said.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale who is the chief of the Republican Party of India and is in alliance with the BJP, said that the ruling Mahayuti alliance will defeat the Maha Vikas Aghadi in the upcoming Assembly polls.

"Maharashtra will have Assembly polls in a few months now. Uddhav Thackeray is saying that elections are to save the Constitution but our polls will be to remove UBT Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar's NCP and Rahul Gandhi's Congress...," Athawale said.

"We (Mahayuti) have more than 240 MLAs with us...they (MVA) can say whatever they want...we will come again for the next five years...," he added.

Athawale said that the reason behind the NDA's poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls is that the INDIA bloc was successful in spreading the narrative that the BJP will change the Constitution if it wins the poll with an overwhelming majority.

"We got fewer numbers this time (in Lok Sabha elections)...the reason for that is that the INDIA bloc spread rumours like the Constitution will be changed...," he said.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has got only 0.3 per cent more votes than the Mahayuti alliance and should not start "daydreaming".

"In the Lok Sabha elections, Maha Vikas Aghadi got 0.3 per cent more votes (than the Mahayuti alliance). If we talk about Mumbai we got 2 lakh votes more," Bawankule said.

In response to Thackeray's dig at the Mahayuti alliance for questioning who would be their Chief Minister after the Assembly polls, Bawankule said, "There are five contenders for the post of CM in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

"The Maharashtra BJP chief said that they will fix their shortcomings but after securing only 0.3 per cent more votes the Opposition should refrain from "daydreaming"."They (MVA) have only got 0.3 per cent more votes. We have accepted that we will correct our mistakes, we will work in those sections where we faltered. We will work among those sections of people where we could not win their trust. But this does not mean that they should not start speaking about Chief Ministership now. People in the Maha Vikas Aghadi have started daydreaming," Bawankule said.

The senior BJP leader also warned the people of Maharashtra that if the MVA comes to power in the state they will stop the benefits of the schemes run by the BJP-led central government from reaching the state."I believe the people of Maharashtra will think again. The Maha Vikas Aghadi is working to stop PM Modi's schemes for the next five years. This is their conspiracy. If they form the government accidentally, they will stop Maharashtra from getting the benefits of central government schemes. People in the Maha Vikas Aghadi are afraid of PM Modi and attack him personally. How can people who personally attack PM Modi, run his schemes in the state?" Bawankule said.

Exuding confidence in the BJP-led Mahayuti government coming to power in the state after the Assembly polls, Bawankule said, "I believe we had some shortcomings this time. We will overcome this and we will certainly bring the BJP government into power in the state under PM Modi's leadership so that farmers get benefits under PM Samman scheme, get urea under subsidy..."

Speaking about the meeting of the Maha Vikas Aghadi on Saturday, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said, "In the meeting, we are discussing over the further plans and how to make Maha Vikas Aghadi more strong..."

Earlier in the day, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took a dig at his former ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that the government at the Centre has been replaced from Narendra Modi government to National Democratic Alliance government, and it remains to be seen how long it will last.

"They (BJP) said nobody can fight against the BJP. The people of Maharashtra showed them the mirror. We are very thankful to the people of Maharashtra. This fight was to save the Constitution and democracy. Modi sarkar is now changed to NDA sarkar. How many days this sarkar will work is questionable," Thackeray said speaking at a joint press conference with his Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners on Saturday.

Continuing his attack against the BJP, Thackeray reminded them of the "400 par" slogan and their narrative of "achhe din" (good days). This came amid the poor performance of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

"BJP itself gave the slogan of 400 paar. What happened to the narrative of acche din (good days), what happened to Modi's guarantee?..." the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said.

Hitting out at Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, he said, "Devendra Fadnavis told us that our government is like the three legs of a rickshaw, the condition of the BJP government at the Centre is also the same."Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar, who attended the press conference, also took a dig at the Prime Minister by thanking him for holding roadshows and rallies at places where his party coincidentally won."Wherever the Prime Minister's roadshow and rally took place, we won. That is why I consider it my duty to thank the Prime Minister," he said.

Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, who also attended the press conference, thanked the people of Maharashtra for the MVA's good performance in the Lok Sabha polls in the state."We all have come together today to thank the people of Maharashtra and to express our gratitude to everyone. The people of Maharashtra have made the MVA candidates victorious. For the first time after the results of the Lok Sabha elections, the leaders of the INDIA bloc of Maharashtra have met today. This press conference is to thank the people."

Expressing hope that this electoral performance of the MVA will reflect in the upcoming Assembly elections as well, Chavan said, "We have received a good number of votes in Maharashtra. We all have come together to save democracy. I hope that the way people voted for us in the Lok Sabha elections, we will get the same love in the assembly elections and now there will be a change of power in Maharashtra.

"Both Thackeray and Pawar, whose parties were split within a gap of one year, stated that they will not take back the leaders who left their faction and joined their respective rival factions.

"Absolutely not," Uddhav Thackeray said when he was asked whether he will be taking back those leaders who had left his faction.When Sharad Pawar was asked the same question, he said, "There is no question of taking them back."

Responding to whether he will be accepting new leaders into his party, Uddhav Thackeray said, "We will move forward with all those people who stayed with us, and struggled with us. If some people want to join us, we will see..."The BJP dipped to nine seats in Maharashtra against 23 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The vote share stood at 26.18 per cent. The Congress, on the other hand, marginally improved its seat share by securing 13 seats in the state.

The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won seven and one seats respectively, taking the total tally of the NDA to 17.The BJP victory tally was much lower than its 2019 tally of 303 and the 282 seats it had won in 2014. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong growth, winning 99 seats compared to 52 that it had won in 2019 and 44 seats in 2014. The INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions from exit polls. (ANI)