NI Bureau
BJP leader Chandrakant Patil praised Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday, acknowledging Thackeray’s significant efforts during the Lok Sabha election campaign. Despite Thackeray’s health issues, he campaigned vigorously. However, Patil pointed out that the Congress and NCP (SP) appeared to benefit more from his efforts than Thackeray’s own party.
Patil, a senior Maharashtra minister, noted, “Uddhav Thackeray’s health was not good, yet he put in a lot of effort. I was concerned about his health. Nevertheless, the results show that the NCP (SP) and Congress gained more from his hard work than his own party did.”
He further elaborated, “When Thackeray was with the BJP, his party won 18 Lok Sabha seats. With Congress and NCP (SP), he only managed to win nine seats. He needs to reflect on this.”
Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) contested 21 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, winning just nine. In contrast, the Congress contested 17 seats and won 13, including a victory by a rebel candidate in the Sangli constituency who later supported the party. The NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) contested 10 seats and secured eight wins.
Patil also made a pointed remark about Thackeray’s victories, saying, “Thackeray is now seen as winning due to minority votes. An MNS leader aptly commented that the color of Uddhav’s victory is not saffron but green.”
