Maharashtra rejects Congress-NCP

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Maharashtra rejects Congress-NCP

Bharatiya Janata Party bags 23 of the 48 seats, while Shiv Sena gets 18

by

Nithin Belle

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Published: Sat 17 May 2014, 10:25 PM

Last updated: Fri 3 Apr 2015, 5:52 PM

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with its allies made an almost clean sweep in Maharashtra, winning 42 of the 48 seats in the general elections, its best performance in the state.

The BJP won 23 of the 48 seats, while the Shiv Sena won 18 seats. A junior partner scored a victory in one seat. The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combine, which has been ruling Maharashtra since 1999, was shocked by the humiliating defeat in the general elections.

The saffron wave swept through Congress-NCP strongholds including Mumbai, western Maharashtra and Marathwada. The BJP-Sena managed to wrest all six seats from the Congress-NCP in Mumbai, all four seats in the Mumbai metropolitan region, all 10 seats in Vidarbha and all three seats in the Konkan.

Prominent United Progressive Alliance (UPA) ministers including Sushilkumar Shinde (Solapur) and Praful Patel (Bhandara-Gondiya) were defeated by their BJP rivals. Nitin Gadkari, the former BJP president — who contested parliamentary elections for the first time from Nagpur — won the seat with a massive 250,000-plus seat margin, while Gopinath Munde, senior BJP leader, retained his Beed parliamentary seat.

The BJP has demanded snap polls in Maharashtra following the defeat of the UPA in the state and called on chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to hand over his resignation.

Assembly elections in the state are due to be held in October. The BJP-Shiv Sena was in power in Maharashtra for just one term between 1995 and1999.

While the Congress-NCP suffered a humiliating defeat, winning just six seats (as against 25 seats in 2009), other parties failed to make any headway. The Aam Aadmi Party, which was confident of winning a few seats in the state, failed to open its account.

The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party also could not win a single seat in the state. Narendra Modi, who will take over as prime minister, campaigned extensively in Maharashtra. Both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi also addressed several rallies.

Maharashtra is the second most important state, sending 48 seats to the 543-seat Lok Sabha. UP sends the largest contingent of 80 members of parliament.

nithin@khaleejtimes.com


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