'MVA Made Mistake Of Opposing Ladki Bahin Scheme': Praful Patel On Big Maharashtra Win

Last Updated:November 23, 2024, 20:33 IST

NCP leader Praful Patel credited the people of Maharashtra for giving an "overwhelming" victory to the Mahayuti and said his party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls was owing to fake narratives

Praful Patel (L) is from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, which is part of the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra. (Image: PTI/File)

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) made the mistake of opposing the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme, which was a major contributing factor to the Mahayuti’s massive victory in the Maharashtra assembly elections, said NCP leader Praful Patel.

Patel, who is part of the NCP faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, credited the people of the state for giving the ruling alliance an “overwhelming" victory as the votes were counted on Saturday. He said his party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections was owing to a fake narrative about the Constitution.

“All credit goes to the people of Maharashtra for giving us (Mahayuti) an overwhelming victory. All three parties did exceedingly well. The problem in the Lok Sabha elections was that there was a fake narrative about the Constitution, which sank into people’s minds," he told CNN-News18.

On the ‘Ek hain toh safe hain’ slogan given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which the BJP leaders are saying propelled the Mahayuti to victory, he said: “It was never the slogan that there was any difference, but it’s a good one. Ajit Pawar spoke only once against the ‘Batenge toh katenge’ slogan given by (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister) Yogi Aidtyanath."

Patel further said his alliance partner, BJP, has grown both “organically and inorganically" in Maharashtra, which has prominent regional parties and leaders. He said the voters, with this mandate, had shown which faction is the real NCP.

On the different schemes promised by the Mahayuti for the people of Maharashtra, he affirmed that the state government can afford these schemes because of a strong economic base. “I can assure you 101% that the government of Maharashtra can afford the promised schemes. The state has a strong economic base," he added.

As the NCP leader said, the crucial Ladki Bahin scheme and the rise in women voting were crucial to the Mahayuti’s landslide performance in the assembly polls. Apart from concentrating on local leadership and issues, the shift of focus to women voters, perhaps, is one of the main reasons for this win.

The people’s sentiment apparently started changing in Mahayuti’s favour when the state budget presented by Deputy CM and finance minister Ajit Pawar introduced the ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’ offering financial aid of Rs 1,500 per month to women from financially weaker sections.

This scheme was modelled on the Madhya Pradesh government’s ‘Ladli Behna Yojana’, which is believed to have helped the BJP retain power in the last elections by a massive margin. The state government formally launched the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme in mid-August and organised programmes for its publicity on a large scale.

Its growing popularity forced the MVA to announce the Mahalaxmi scheme if voted to power, offering Rs 3,000 per month to women. The Mahayuti countered this poll promise with an assurance to raise the Ladki Bahin allowance to Rs 2,100.

According to the latest EC figures, the BJP has so far won 99 seats and led in 34. Its ally Shiv Sena, headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has bagged 47 seats and led in 10. Another partner, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP pocked 37 seats and led in four.

Only five months ago, the BJP’s dismal tally of nine seats dragged down the Mahayuti performance to only 17 in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, which elects 48 MPs. In contrast, the opposition MVA scored 30 seats.

(With PTI inputs)

News elections 'MVA Made Mistake Of Opposing Ladki Bahin Scheme': Praful Patel On Big Maharashtra Win