RSS-linked weekly blames BJP’s poor Maharashtra Lok Sabha show on NCP tie-up

Reacting to an article in RSS-affiliated weekly “Vivek”, which blamed the poor performance of Maharashtra BJP in Lok Sabha elections on the alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Ajit Pawar-led party on Wednesday said that no post-poll data supports this claim and that “process of vote transfer” takes time.

The article in the Sangh-linked Marathi weekly stated that the “workers of the BJP have not liked joining hands with the NCP”, The Indian Express had reported.

“Opinions expressed in any mouthpiece of the RSS do not necessarily reflect the mindset of the BJP or its leaders. Till today, not a single BJP leader who is part of the decision-making process has ever blamed the NCP over the BJP’s losses. Had it been true, the BJP leadership would have never allied with the NCP,” said Umesh Patil, chief spokesperson of the NCP.
Patil added that the alliance between the NCP and the BJP is aimed at the future.

“Data proves that NCP did not harm BJP anywhere in the state. This alliance eyes the future and the coordination will improve. Both parties will benefit from each other as the process of vote transfer does take time,” he added.

The cover story in “Vivek”, titled “Karyakarta khachlela nahi, tar sambhramat” (Worker is not discouraged, but confused), read: “Every (BJP) worker, while narrating the unease and reasons for failure in the Lok Sabha polls (in Maharashtra), starts with the alliance with the NCP. It is clear that the workers of the BJP have not liked joining hands with the NCP. Even the BJP leaders know this.”

The Marathi weekly had also blamed the lack of communication between the party, its workers and the NDA government in the state for BJP’s poll setback.

Meanwhile, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar