Mumbai, June 5 (IANS ) The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra said on Wednesday that the MahaYuti allies Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party have become a 'liability' for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has prompted Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' offer to quit his post.
The MVA allies, Congress' Atul Londhe, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sushma Andhare and Nationalist Congress Party (SP)'s Mahesh Tapase slammed Fadnavis for his willingness to step down as Deputy Chief Minister, owning up moral responsibility for the MahaYuti's debacle in the Lok Sabha 2024 elections.
Londhe said that the MahaYuti failed to deliver 45-plus of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state to bolster the BJP's target of 400-plus at the national level, and now they have been shown their place, as they are running an unconstitutional government in Maharashtra.
"This is a drama to hide his lack-lustre performance… Fadnavis has realised that the party has failed in the state and the resignation is to pre-empt any action against him by the BJP central leadership," said Londhe, the Congress' state chief spokesperson.
Reacting sharply, Andhare said that Fadnavis is trying to become a hero after the party suffered a huge setback ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year.
"It has dawned on Fadnavis that after the Lok Sabha reverses, there is no way that he can ever hope to return as the CM in the future, so he has made the offer to quit his post. However, the party will consider other leaders for the top post," said Andhare, the Deputy Leader of SS (UBT).
Tapase said that both Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar have become liabilities for the BJP as they did not add value to the BJP’s vote-share in the LS polls here.
"By the moves to quit as Deputy CM, Fadnavis is trying to remove the foundations of the MahaYuti regime. Fadnavis knows that if he steps out, the state government will collapse, and he can shift the blame onto Shinde-Pawar for the poll fallout," said Tapase, Chief Spokesperson of NCP (SP).
Earlier on Wednesday, Fadnavis said he wanted to be relieved of his government responsibilities and concentrate on building the party ahead of the Assembly elections.
Soon afterward, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule told the media that there was no need for Fadnavis to resign, and he could work for the party even while continuing as the Deputy CM.
Fadnavis' surprise announcement came a day after the MahaYuti bagged only 17 seats compared with MVA's 30 wins, besides one Independent in Sangli, who is likely to support the Congress.