Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost 10-12 seats in Maharashtra during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in constituencies where Modi had campaigned.
Pawar, speaking to reporters in Jalgaon, was responding to Modi’s ongoing election rallies in the state.
On Tuesday, Modi addressed rallies in Chimur (Chandrapur district), Solapur, and Pune as part of the BJP’s campaign for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
“It is the prime minister’s right to hold election rallies, and there is no need to give it much importance,” Pawar said.
“But remember, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Modi held 16 rallies, and the BJP lost 10-12 seats in those constituencies. So, let him come,” he added, referring to Modi’s current campaign trail.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s seat count in Maharashtra dropped from 23 to just nine.
Pawar also dismissed accusations from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, who had recently criticised Pawar for allegedly promoting caste-based politics. “Thackeray seeks attention just before elections, but I don’t take him seriously,” Pawar said.
The NCP leader further criticised BJP’s Raosaheb Danve, who was recently caught on video kicking a supporter. Pawar remarked that the way the BJP treated its party workers was now widely evident.
Maharashtra’s upcoming assembly elections, set for November 20, will see a tight contest between the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP alliance (Mahayuti) and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), Shiv Sena (UBT), and Congress.
Results will be announced on November 23.