At a press meeting with allies, Sharad Pawar expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Modi, but it was delivered in a pointed, critical manner

In the 2024 election, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, initially predicted to narrowly lose the race for Maharashtra's 48 Lok Sabha seats, astonished many by achieving a decisive victory.

Mumbai: NCP founder Sharad Pawar has "thanked" Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the victory of the Maharashtra opposition alliance, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes his party, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena faction, and the Congress, in securing 30 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in this election.

Pawar, who lost the NCP symbol and name to the faction led by his nephew Ajit Pawar (Deputy Chief Minister after aligning with the BJP and the Sena breakaway group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde), remarked, "We thank PM Narendra Modi for creating a favorable political environment for the MVA."

This comment comes as the BJP faces scrutiny over its poor performance in Maharashtra, where it dropped from 23 seats in 2019 to just nine this time. Data indicates that Modi and the BJP lost 15 of the 18 seats where they campaigned extensively. The only wins were in Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, and Satara. The MVA took the rest, including Beed, Latur, Nashik, Mumbai North East, and Pune, with Pawar's NCP securing eight seats and Ajit Pawar's faction managing just one.

Meanwhile, Thackeray, buoyed by his faction's success in winning nine seats (compared to the breakaway group's seven), indicated a firm stance against defectors but left some room for potential returns, stating, "All those who supported me will stay. We will move forward with all those people who stayed and struggled with us... If some people want to join us, we will see..."

Thackeray also dismissed speculation about merging his Sena group with Shinde's and rejoining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

These developments challenge the BJP's position after securing only 240 seats nationally, 32 short of a majority. Even with NDA partners like JDU and TDP, the BJP is just 21 seats over the majority mark of 272. For the INDIA bloc, gaining some Shinde Sena MPs wouldn’t allow them to surpass the BJP, but it would increase pressure on Modi's party.

Thackeray also criticized the BJP over the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which the BJP believed would help secure a majority in Uttar Pradesh's 80 seats and reach their '400 plus' goal. "After the election, Ram has become BJP-free," he quipped.

At a press conference to thank the voters, Thackeray, Pawar, and Congress's Prithviraj Chavan expressed their appreciation for the election results. Chavan stated, "This press conference is to show our gratitude to the people of Maharashtra. They voted for the MVA and rejected efforts at religious polarization.".

Looking ahead, Chavan mentioned that a recent meeting of the three parties discussed strategies for the upcoming Assembly election, expressing confidence in their victory and the potential change of power in the state.

Thackeray emphasized the shift from a "Modi government" to an "NDA government," questioning its longevity. He claimed the Lok Sabha results exposed the "myth" of the BJP's electoral invincibility, highlighting the significant impact of Maharashtra voters.

Reflecting on the MVA's unexpected triumph in the 2024 election, Thackeray noted that his party and Pawar's won 17 seats combined, with the Congress taking 13, a dramatic improvement from previous elections. In contrast, the BJP, which previously held 23 seats, managed only nine, with its Sena and NCP allies winning eight. This setback for the BJP, along with losses in Uttar Pradesh and Bengal, meant they fell short of their ambitious target of 370 seats, securing only 240 and requiring alliances to form the government.