Mumbai | The BJP's stunning victory in the Haryana assembly elections reflects its commitment to development which will also propel the ruling Mahayuti to a thumping majority in the upcoming Maharashtra polls, said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday.
The Congress and its opposition INDIA bloc partners used fake narratives, played caste politics and made false promises to garner votes in the Lok Sabha elections, but the bubble has burst, he told PTI in an interview.
“The truth will come out if you compare the work done by the Congress in 50-60 years (when it was in power) and what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done in the past 10 years,” said Shinde, whose Shiv Sena is a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti coalition, also comprising the BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
There was a double-engine government in Haryana and the people there understood what it meant for development. That's why they voted BJP to power for the third consecutive time, he said.
Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly are due in November.
The current Maharashtra government is equally focused on development, said Shinde.
“When the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was in power, they slammed brakes on key projects like the Atal Setu, Samruddhi Highway, Coastal Road, Metro 3 and the Aarey car shed. Whereas we removed all obstacles on these projects,” the CM said.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government under Uddhav Thackeray collapsed after Shinde led a rebellion in the then Shiv Sena, splitting the party, in 2022 and sided with the BJP to become the CM. The Shinde group subsequently got the party name and its bow-and-arrow symbol.
The Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) under Sharad Pawar are the alliance partners in the MVA.
Shinde said the Congress makes promises but goes back on its word later. “The Congress traps people, deceives them and runs fake narratives. That's why it lost in Haryana. By contrast, BJP, NDA, RSS and our party workers focused on the agenda of development,” he said.
Bucking anti-incumbency, the ruling BJP pulled off a hat-trick of wins in Haryana to retain power and halt Congress' comeback attempt in the assembly elections, results of which were announced Tuesday. The BJP got its best-ever haul of 48 seats, 11 more than the Congress, in the 90-member assembly.
Shinde said the Congress, MVA and the “INDI alliance” got votes in the Lok Sabha polls by spinning fake narratives, making false promises and spreading poison over castes. That's why people have made up their minds to reject them, he claimed.
Even leaders from the MVA are also saying that Congress has become arrogant, he claimed.
“Rahul Gandhi defames the country and disrespects the PM on foreign soil. But people have become wise now,” he said.
Shinde listed various schemes, including ‘Ladki Bahin', ‘Yuva Karya Prashikshan Yojana and Kisan Bijli Bill Mafi Yojana, to highlight the work done by his government in the past two years.
“There are also schemes for senior citizens and girls, who want to become professionals like doctors, engineers and lawyers. Every family benefits through some or the other scheme of our government,” he said.
The CM also said that there should be a comparison between the work done in the past two years and what was done in the two and half years (during the MVA rule) before that.
“The ‘Ladki Bahin', ‘Yuva Prashikshan and the scheme giving three free cooking gas cylinders are so famous today that I'm confident people will stamp their approval on our government. Like Haryana, where development won, Mahayuti will emerge victorious with a thumping majority in Maharashtra,” he asserted.