Sanjay Raut said BJP fell like a "house of cards" in Delhi. (File)
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the Delhi assembly election results indicate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah are not invincible.
In his weekly column in Sena mouthpiece ''Saamana'', Mr Raut criticised BJP's "religion-centric" political strategy while lauding the developmental work of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government.
He said the BJP, which appeared invincible during the Lok Sabha polls, fell like a "house of cards" in Delhi.
"No country is without religion, but religion does not mean patriotism...a follower of Lord Hanuman, Kejriwal brought 'Ram Rajya' in Delhi though the BJP almost fielded Lord Ram in this election," Mr Raut said.
"The picture of Delhi was of Kejriwal as devotee of Hanuman and people of Delhi became Ram...Ram strongly stood behind Hanuman," he said, adding that there are lessons to be learnt from this election.
"The Delhi verdict indicates that Modi-Shah are not invincible any longer. It also points out that voters are not dishonest. Religious whirlwinds were stoked for political gains, but voters did not get carried away," he said.
People should get over the "myth" that only PM Modi and Amit Shah can win elections, the Rajya Sabha member said.
Sharing an experience from a recent international visit, Mr Raut said while he was at the Tashkent airport, two Indians living there for years told him that the "BJP bubble has started to burst now".
"Even Lord Ram is not helping the party to win polls. They (those two Indians) shared their views on the day of vote counting (for Delhi polls)," the Sena leader said.
The common factor between Prime Minister Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is that both are self-centered but PM Modi also has huge arrogance and pomposity," Mr Raut alleged.
"The BJP has ridiculed Kejriwal's freebies. BJP's definition of patriotism comprises waging war against Pakistan, abrogation of Article 370, strong steps against infiltrators and random sloganeering," he said.
But, "the better form of patriotism" (referring to Kejriwal) is offering better education, health services and providing electricity, water and shelter to the needy, the Sena leader pointed out.