‘Relieve me of my duties’: Devendra Fadnavis takes responsibility for BJP's abysmal performance in Maharashtra
Mumbai | Following the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) significant decline in seat share in the Lok Sabha Elections in Maharashtra, state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday accepted responsibility for the party's poor performance. He requested the top leadership to relieve him of his ministerial duties so he could dedicate himself to working for the party.
While addressing the media in Maharashtra's Mumbai, Fadnavis said, “Whatever loss we suffered in the LS polls in Maharashtra, I take full responsibility for it. Therefore, I urge the top leadership to relieve me of my ministerial duties for I need to work for the party and contribute my time to the preparations of the state assembly polls.”
#WATCH | Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis says, "...This debacle that happened in Maharashtra, our seats have reduced, the entire responsibility for this is mine. I accept this responsibility and will try to fulfill whatever is lacking. I am not a person who will… pic.twitter.com/ypJzTTXHf4 — ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2024
"Farmers' issues played a dominant role in some seats. Also, the false propaganda that the constitution would be altered impacted some voters. The outright votes of the Muslims and the Maratha movement has an impact", he added.
The BJP's seat count in Maharashtra dropped to nine from 23 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, with a vote share of 26.18%. Meanwhile, the Congress slightly improved its performance, securing 13 seats in the state.
Meanwhile, the state deputy CM also expressed gratitude towards the people of the country.
"I thank the people of the country who allowed Modiji (PM Narendra Modi) to take oath as the Prime Minister for the third time. The NDA performed well in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh as well. I thank people for that", he said.
Taking a swipe at the INDIA bloc, Fadnavis added, "The BJP alone has gained more seats than the INDIA bloc. The propaganda that the constitution would be changed was disseminated by them. We needed to curb it which we couldn't".
The BJP's victory tally in the latest Lok Sabha elections was significantly lower than its previous counts, falling short of the 303 seats it won in 2019 and the 282 seats in 2014. In contrast, the Congress party saw substantial growth, winning 99 seats compared to 52 in 2019 and 44 in 2014. The INDIA bloc surpassed the 230-seat mark, challenging predictions from exit polls.
Despite the BJP falling 32 seats short of the 272-seat majority mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term with the support of coalition partners, including Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and Chandrababu Naidu's TDP.
- With inputs from agencies
