Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today played down allegations that the BJP plays the politics of engineering splits in other parties, saying veteran political leader Sharad Pawar had done the same in his day. "Everything is fair in love and politics. Sometimes, it works out vis-a-vis the people, other times there are reactions," Mr Gadkari told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
During the interview ahead of the assembly elections in Maharashtra, Mr Gadkari - asked about the public perception that has cost the BJP in the Lok Sabha election -- said Sharad Pawar is a very respected leader in Maharashtra. But at one time, he had made moves that affected every party, he said.
"The NCP under Sharad Pawar as Chief Minister broke up all parties... He broke the Shiv Sena and pulled out Chaggan Bhujbal and others. But it was quite regular in politics. Whether it is right or wrong is a different matter... There is this saying -- everything is fair in love and politics," Mr Gadkari said.
In the Lok Sabha election held earlier this year, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi had won 30 of the state's 48 seats. The ruling alliance won 17. One seat went to an Independent candidate.
The results were seen as a reflection of the public disapproval of the political upheaval in the state -- the split in Shiv Sena, the collapse of the MVA government and the passing of the reins of power to the BJP and the rebel faction of the Sena. It was followed by the split in the Nationalist Congress party of Sharad Pawar and the rebel faction led by Ajit Pawar joining the ruling coalition.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi had won 30 of the state's 48 Lok Sabha seats, the ruling alliance won 17. The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena won nine seats, ahead of the 7 won by Mr Shinde's faction. The Nationalist Congress Party - Sharadchandra Pawar - scooped up eight seats, compared to the one won by Ajit Pawar's party. The biggest winner was the Congress, which went up from one seat to 13.
The BJP, seen as the instigator, had also suffered, sliding to nine seats from the 23 it won in 2019.
Polling for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will be held in a single phase on November 20 and the counting of votes will be held on November 23.
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