Maharashtra poll results a warning to rulers not to show arrogance of power: Shiv Sena tells BJP
Mumbai: A day after the poll results in Maharashtra, where the BJP put up a below-par performance, the Shiv Sena on Friday took a dig at its senior ally, saying there was no "maha janadesh" and the outcome was in fact a rap on the knuckles for those high on "arrogance of power".
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had toured over 200 constituencies, out of the total 288, during his 'Maha Janadesh Yatra' (massive mandate march) ahead of the October 21 polling. On the eve of results on October 24, Fadnavis had talked about the saffron alliance winning 200-plus seats.
In an editorial in its mouthpiece "Saamana", the Sena, which also saw a drop in its 2014 tally, said the mandate has rejected the notion that elections can be swept by engineering defections and splitting opposition parties.
Analysing the poll results, which saw main opposition parties the NCP and Congress improving their tally, the editorial said the outcome shows opponentscan'tbe finished in politics.
The Marathi daily said the "BJP broke the NCP" in such a manner in run-up to elections that people wondered if the Sharad Pawar-led party had any future.
"But the NCP bounced back crossing the 50-seat mark, while a leaderless Congress won 44 seats. The results were a warning to rulers not to show arrogance of power... its a rap on their knuckles," said the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.
"The BJP tally came down from 122 (in 2014) to 105 (in 2019), whereas the Shiv Sena's tally also saw a decrease (from 63 to 56).
"Twenty-five seats have gone to other smaller parties.
This shows people have said beware...if you show arrogance of power...," the editorial said.
The polls did not deliver "maha janadesh" (massive mandate), the newspaper said.
The Sena organ said the mandate has rejected the BJP's thinking that elections can be swept by engineering defections and splitting opposition parties.
People have also taught a lesson to turncoats, it said, referring to large-scale desertions from the NCP- Congress to the ruling camp.
Referring to the shock bypoll defeat of Udayanraje Bhosale, who defected to the BJP after winning the Satara Lok Sabha seat on NCP ticket in May, the Sena said "the Satara "gaadi" (seat of power) has respect because of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The people of Satara, where bypoll was held along with assembly elections, have shown they will not allow political opportunism in the name of Shivaji Maharaj, the editorial said.
This is a personal defeat of Bhosale, a direct descendant of the legendary 17th century Maratha warrior king, the party said. The editorial wondered how the NCP-Congress got so many seats despite the BJP and the Shiv Sena firming up a pre- poll alliance.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed several rallies on Article 370. Modi addressed a rally in Satara for Udayanraje.
"Chief Minister Fadnavis declared that since Udayanraje is now in the BJP, Chhatrapati Shivaji's blessings are with the BJP. Still Satara defeated Udayanraje," it said.
The Sena said Pawar proved more powerful than the BJP chief minister. "There is a lesson to be learnt from this defeat (in Satara, where the NCP won). Fadnavis said he was a powerful wrestler but Sharad Pawar proved more powerful.
"Maharashtra doesn't accept arrogance of power," the editorial said and added, "Our feet were always on the ground." The BJP-Sena combine bagged around 160 seats in Maharashtra, way below their expectation of crossing the 200- mark.
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Compromised PM didn't sign trade deal with US, but a bargain for Adani's release: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of signing a trade deal with the US only to secure the "release" of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
"Compromised PM did not strike a trade deal, but a bargain for Adani's release," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, after reports that the US has agreed to settle the lawsuit that accused Adani of hiding alleged bribery.
The US government has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed against Adani, who is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company's huge solar energy project in India was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme, according to court filings published Thursday.
Reacting to the reports, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it was now clear why the PM agreed to the "hopelessly one-sided Indo-US trade deal that was really a steal by the US".
"And it is also clear why he abruptly halted Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, acting on President Trump's threats rather than on our national interest. Reportedly, the Trump Administration is about to drop all charges of corruption against Modani," he said on X.
"How much more compromised can the PM get?" Ramesh asked.
In the lawsuit filed in late 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who is a director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, of agreeing to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years.
It was alleged in the lawsuit that Adani Group raised USD 2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate had denied the allegations.
