The NDA in Maharashtra may not have it as easy as in 2014 and 2019, when it won 41 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, due to a wave of sympathy in favor of Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, a senior leader of the alliance, Chhagan . Bhujbal said.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV on Saturday, Mr Bhujbal also opened up about his decision to withdraw from the battle for the Nashik Lok Sabha seat and shared his views on whether the NDA's slogan for winning 400 seats …ab ki baar 400 pairs' – has led voters to believe that the Constitution will be changed.
Maharashtra's already interesting politics became more complex in 2022 when Eknath Shinde and a group of MLAs staged an uprising, leading to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Mr Shinde then joined the BJP and took oath as chief minister, splitting the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena into two.
A year later, a similar scenario played out in the Sharad Pawar-led NCP when his cousin Ajit Pawar split the party and also joined hands with the BJP, becoming deputy chief minister. So, Maharashtra's political landscape now has two Shiv Senas and two NCPs – under very similar but different names – pitted against each other.
When Mr Bhujbal, who along with Ajit Pawar was at the forefront of the insurgency in the NCP, was asked about the impact of this in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, he said in Hindi: “I believe there is a wave of sympathy is – like Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena split and a faction of the NCP switched sides. This is evident from their rallies. It doesn't seem like they're failing like they did in 2014 and 2019.”
In both Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had fought in alliance with the undivided Shiv Sena and the parties had won in 23 and 18 constituencies respectively.
“However, people's confidence is still in Narendra Modi and they want him to form a strong government,” he added.
The Maharashtra minister became somewhat emotional when he was asked about the match at Sharad Pawar's bastion Baramati between his daughter Supriya Sule and Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra.
“Even for me it is sad that people who have lived together in the same house for so many years… What is happening is something that many people do not like. Whose fault it is, that is another matter. But It could be very good if this had not happened,” he said.
Slogan Hurt NDA?
On the Opposition's charge, also leveled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, that the NDA is seeking 400 seats as it wants to amend the Constitution and whether the slogan 'ab ki baar 400 pairs' has damaged the NDA alliance, Mr. Bhujbal: 'The opposition's campaign on this was powerful. People think the slogan is about changing the constitution.
“However, PM Modi has said several times that the Constitution is strong and it cannot be changed even by BR Ambedkar himself. But this message is given to the people. The impact will only be visible when the polls are opened. ,” he added.
Withdrawal from the competition
Nashik was one of the most contentious constituencies as the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP tried to work out a seat-sharing arrangement and Mr Bhujbal withdrew from the race for the ticket on Friday. The candidate is yet to be announced and there appears to be a fight between the allies, with conflicting comments from BJP leader Pankaja Munde and Chief Minister Shinde.
Mr Bhujbal said he had not asked for the ticket but was told by other leaders in the NCP during Holi that he would contest from Nashik. This, he said, was told to him after a late-night meeting between the allies in Delhi, where the seats were discussed one by one instead of in blocks for each party.
The minister said Mr Shinde also wanted the seat for the Shiv Sena and he agreed to contest because Nashik is his base and he and his son have been MLAs from there. His cousin, Sameer Bhujbal, was also an MP from the seat.
Mr Bhujbal said he received a lot of support from the people because of the development work he had done and said he was surprised as his name was not called from the seat for three weeks.
“When Narayan Rane's name was also announced (for Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg) and mine was not, I thought they don't want to do it. Then I said I don't want to fight from the chair. If it has to be a match, I want this do it with respect. I know my status. I don't like asking for tickets. The only time I asked for a ticket was from (Shiv Sena founder) Bal Thackeray for the Municipal Corporation in Mumbai in 1970. ” he remembered.
“After that, I even got involved in ticket distribution. So I thought waiting so long is not good for me. So I felt bad and decided not to participate,” he said.