"Maha Vikas Aghadi's MahaYuti-bashing Tactic Flopped": Minister Ramdas Athawale

Crediting the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana for the MahaYuti's landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, on Saturday said the Maha Vikas Aghadi's (MVA) politics of abusing rivals, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, proved to be its undoing.

"Our victory has been made bigger by the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana," Mr Athawale, who heads the Republican Party of India (A) which is part of the NDA, told IANS.

Under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, the Maharashtra government gives eligible women a financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month.

Mr Athawale said the BJP-led MahaYuti was always confident of returning to power in Maharashtra but the crossing of the 200-seat mark has come as a happy surprise.

"PM Modi's all-round development has been backed by voters from all sections of society, including women, farmers, youth and the poor," he said.

He blamed the MVA's regressive politics for its loss.

"They took to MahaYuti-bashing on a daily basis and lost the plot. This tactic, which worked for them in the Lok Sabha elections, flopped," he said.

"Abusing Prime Minister Modi proved costly for them," he said, adding that Maharashtra voters have rejected the MVA's politics of personal attacks.

He said Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut never spared an opportunity to abuse Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, adding, "Almost every day, Raut used to call Shinde a traitor."

Talking about the key electoral issues, he said an attempt to convert the direct fight between the MahaYuti and MVA into 'Vote Jihad' and 'Dharam yudh' failed miserably.

Discussing issues related to government formation, the RPI(A) leader said, "Even before the declaration of results, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had assured that our party will be getting one Cabinet post and one MLC slot in Maharashtra."

"Fadnavis had asked my party to be part of the government," Mr Athawale said, referring to his discussion with the BJP leader before the declaration of results.

He also hit out at the MVA leaders for questioning the EVMs and said, "The EVMs were brought in during the Congress' rule. When the EVMs lead to their victory in Jharkhand then these are labeled good, but when they lose in Maharashtra they start questioning them."

Mr Athawale said there was no competition within the MahaYuti over the Chief Minister face and an amicable decision was likely to be taken by Sunday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)