Samajwadi Party quits Maha Vikas Aghadi, says ‘Uddhav back to justifying Babri Masjid demolition’

The development comes after Thackeray’s close aide and MLC Milind Narwekar posted a picture of the Babri Masjid demolition on X. The picture also showed Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, Uddhav and his son Aaditya, along with a caption that read: “Those who did this, I am proud of them.” These were the exact lines uttered by the late Bal Thackeray hours after the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.

“(Uddhav) Thackeray joined the MVA in 2019. At that time, he vouched for secularism to win the support of Congress. After the defeat in the Assembly polls, Thackeray is back to his old position justifying the Babri Masjid demolition. This is unacceptable to us. Therefore, we have decided to walk out of the MVA,” Azmi said.

The MVA received a drubbing in the Assembly elections with the Mahayuti sweeping the state. The SP had contested nine seats but won just two.

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— Milind Narvekar (@NarvekarMilind_) December 5, 2024

“What is the use of continuing in MVA? They don’t talk to us. We were not part of strategies or ticket distribution,” Azmi, who won from the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar seat, said.

‘EC should replace EVMs with ballot papers’

Azmi, who took oath as an MLA, also weighed in on the controversy over EVMs saying, “I believe, keeping public demand in mind, the Election Commission should replace EVMs with ballot papers. There are doubts about the functioning of EVMs. It is being said they can be hacked and manipulated to make a party win or lose.”

A senior Congress leader reacted to the development saying “every party has the right to take its own decision”. “After the (MVA’s) good performance in Lok Sabha, all smaller parties clamoured to rally around Congress. Now, after the defeat, they want to take their independent position,” the leader said.