#Mumbai : BJP’s key ally and partner in the Maharashtra government, the Shiv Sena, has lashed out at its ally for putting up a poor show in the local bodies elections in which the Congress won the highest number of seats, followed by the NCP. It has attributed the loss to the “mistakes” by the coalition government in the state “that are making people uncomfortable.”
In an editorial, in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna, that is severely critical of the state government, it has said, “In spite of having a strong leadership in the state and the people’s mandate, the Congress is surging ahead. The BJP Chief Minister has to take note of this.”
The Congress won 105 out of 345 wards in the municipal council and nagar panchayat polls held on Sunday. The NCP won 80 and the Shiv Sena 59 wards. The BJP finished at the bottom of the tally with 39 seats. The Congress win is “only a trailer” of the film that is yet to begin, Saamna wrote.
In an apparent dig at the BJP’s top leadership, the editorial said, “The party won handsomely in the Lok Sabha polls due to the Modi wave, but history has shown that balloons that fly in the air do not remain there for long,” it said, according to the news agency Press Trust of India. “The results (of local bodies polls) are an indication that Maharashtra’s political environment is in danger,” it said.
With a drought compounding the farm crisis in the state, the government has made mere announcements so far, the ally has said.
The BJP leads the coalition government between the two in the state and also at the centre. The two parties broke their 25 year old alliance to contest the 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections separately but came back together to form the government. They have shared a somewhat uneasy relationship since then.
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