Karnataka results won’t affect Maharashtra polls: Devendra Fadnavis

The Deputy CM was addressing the media in Nagpur on the Karnataka Assembly election results.

While congratulating the Congress for its victory, Fadnavis said, “Our central leadership will analyse why the results fell short of our expectations.”

He further said, “The statistics show the BJP has been able to retain its vote share. In the 2018 election, the BJP had polled 36 per cent votes and had got 106 seats. Five years later, the results show that our vote share has marginally reduced to 35.8 per cent, a mere 0.2 per cent drop. But we lost 40 seats.”

He also pointed out that Janata Dal (Secular), whose vote share was 18 per cent in the last election, clocked a 13.3 per cent this time. “This 5.3 per cent vote share went to Congress, which recorded a total of around 43.1 per cent,” Fadnavis said.

Responding to criticism by the Opposition parties against the BJP in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, “There are some (read Uddhav Thackeray, Sanjay Raut) who celebrate others’ victory as they themselves have nothing to show.”

“In Karnataka, there has been a political trend since 1985 where people vote for alternate parties. However, the BJP was hoping to break that trend but it missed,” he added.

Commenting on NCP president Sharad Pawar whose party had fielded nine candidates in the Karnataka polls, Fadnavis said, “Let them rejoice BJP’s defeat. But the fact remains that the NCP has not got even one per cent of the votes. Their vote share is only 0.27 per cent.”

When pointed out that the MVA leaders are predicting the BJP’s downfall in the upcoming elections, Fadnavis said, “Look at all the Assembly poll results in the past and then look at the Lok Sabha poll results that followed. There is no correlation. Like 2014 and 2019, the BJP will also win the 2024 polls.”

“As far as our rivals are concerned, they have been writing off BJP even if we lost a ward election. But today look at the civic polls in Uttar Pradesh which the BJP swept. It is said that the party which wins in UP, retains power in Lok Sabha,” Fadnavis said.