Element of drama as Sena-BJP losers react

But Thackeray’s response was even more dramatic. He said in that event he should quit the party post since he was at the helm of affairs.

Almost simultaneously, the Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde, was making a similar plea to the state party president SuryabhanWahadane while BJP General Secretary Pramod Mahajan, who got mauled in the Mumbai North-East constituency, personally called on party president L K Advani and urged him that since he was incharge of Maharashtra, he should be relieved from the party post.

Yet another BJP leader and Rural Development Minister Anna Dange, who lost to Congress nominee Madan Patil in his home town Sangli in Western Maharashtra also submitted his resignation from the council of Ministers to Wahadane.

Not surprisingly, all the resignations were rejected by their political bosses saying that defeat was a part of electoral game.

"On the advice of my political mentor, I have resumed work. Now I will launch the policies and programmes of the alliance government with a renewed vigour and ensure massive victory for the alliance in the next assembly elections scheduled to be held in the year 2000," Joshi told reporters this morning.

Joshi said the alliance suffered major set back owing to Congress alliance with the Republican partyof India and Samajwadi Party and above all, we had to a heavy price owing to our over confidence. "In view of the large turnout for our meetings, we felt that the people were with us. Apparently, that was not the situation," Joshi added.

When asked if Thackeray’s adverse remarks against Congress star campaigner Sonia Gandhi was the main reason for the debacle, Joshi said those who know his (Thackeray’s) style, would disagree with this charge. Even in the past, Thackeray had made similar remarks against leading Congress leaders, but then we were not at the receiving end, he added.

Joshi denied the charge that the alliance was defeated in most of the constituencies owing to the role played by the extra constitutional authorities, particularly the members of the Thackeray family. "On the contrary, Thackeray has been a guiding spirit for the alliance government," he said.