Sena (UBT) leader targets ally Cong, says it committed same mistake in Bihar after Maharashtra

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nov 14 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve on Friday criticised ally Congress, saying the party committed the same mistake in Bihar as it did in Maharashtra, where it did not favour having Uddhav Thackeray as the MVA's chief ministerial candidate in the 2024 assembly polls.

He also alleged that the Congress seeks a large number of seats during seat-sharing talks with allies, but fails to win most of them, which ultimately impacts the overall performance of the alliance.

The grand old party should have learnt from its mistakes committed in Maharashtra, Danve said.

The former legislator's statements drew a reaction from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which suggested that the Sena (UBT) should snap ties with the Congress and join the ruling Mahayuti alliance.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in close to 200 out of 243 seats on Friday with the saffron party emerging as single largest party with nearly 95 per cent strike rate. The Mahagathbandhan, which includes the RJD, the Congress and three Left parties, seemed to be poised for a crushing defeat.

The NDA's tally in Bihar comes in the backdrop of the BJP's back-to-back stupendous performances in Delhi, Maharashtra and Haryana.

Speaking to reporters on the NDA's massive mandate in Bihar, Danve said the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) would have seen a different outcome in the Maharashtra assembly polls had the Congress taken a decisive action.

"The Congress should have learnt its lesson earlier, but it did not learn in Bihar either. Had they announced Uddhav Thackeray as the chief ministerial face (ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls) and swiftly finalised the seat-sharing deal, the results would have been different. Yet, they went on to make the same mistake in Bihar," Danve, who was earlier the Leader of Opposition in the state legislative council, said.

In the November 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls, the ruling Mahayuti retained power, pocketing a whopping 230 of the 288 assembly seats, while the MVA won only 46 seats.

Danve said that in Bihar, the seat-sharing talks between the Congress and Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) continued till the last day of filing of nominations.

When Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was taking out his 'Matadata Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar, there was an opportunity to officially project Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate, he said.

"I do not say that this factor alone accounted for the electoral defeat in Bihar as other issues, including discrepancies in voters' list, misuse of government agencies, also contributed. But at the same time, it must be acknowledged that both the Congress and Tejashwi Yadav's party did not put in adequate efforts," Danve claimed.

"The Congress consistently demands a huge share in seat allocation, yet its success rate on those seats remains minimal. This negatively impacts the performance of the entire alliance," he added.

Former Union minister and BJP's Rajya Sabha member Dr Bhagwat Karad latched on to Danve's statement to take aim at the opposition MVA.

"The MVA does not have public support," he said.

"Uddhav Thackeray abandoned Hinduism, and hence people abandoned them regardless of who was projected as their CM face. I congratulate Ambadas Danve for his statement because they have finally realised the mistake, although it is late," Karad said.

"They have finally understood that the Congress makes mistakes. They should sever ties with the Congress and join the Mahayuti," he added.

When reporters asked Karad about his suggestion to the Shiv Sena (UBT) to join the Mahayuti, he said he was not authorised to decide about which party to ally with.

"I am not senior enough to decide alliances with any party. However, we welcome anyone who wishes to join our party and abide by our party line. This offer can be considered by Danve," he said. PTI AW NP