Bhandara (Maharashtra): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the love for the son and daughter was responsible for the respective split in Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the NCP headed by Sharad Pawar.
Addressing a poll rally at Sakoli town in Bhandara district of Maharashtra, Shah also played on the alleged differences among MVA allies- Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Congress- over sharing of seats to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
'The split in the Shiv Sena and NCP took place because of Uddhav's love for his son (Aaditya Thackeray, an MLA) and Pawar's love for his daughter (Baramati MP Supriya Sule),' Shah said as he slammed the opposition for blaming the BJP for breaking the parties
Taking potshots, the senior BJP leader said the situation is such that the truncated Shiv Sena and NCP have 'halved' the Congress in the state in terms of sharing of seats for elections.
'I wonder if these three parties will do any good for Maharashtra,' he added.
Notably, Congress was forced to cede Sangli, Bhiwandi, and Mumbai South Central constituencies to allies in the seat-sharing deal.
Despite losing a bulk of MPs and MLAs, who joined the Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in 2022, the Thackeray-led faction managed to get 21 seats in the seat-sharing deal with MVA partners.
The NCP headed by Sharad Pawar split last year when his nephew Ajit Pawar joined the Mahayuti government comprising the Shinde-led Sena and BJP.
As per the MVA seat-sharing pact, the NCP (SP) will contest 10 seats and the Congress 17.
Notably, Shah last Thursday termed the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition an 'auto-rickshaw with mismatching spare parts' which will fail to perform.
During an election rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had termed as 'nakli' (duplicate) the Shiv Sena led by Thackeray, evoking a sharp reaction.
(Published 14 April 2024, 14:57 IST)
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