No change in BJP Maharashtra's leadership after poor performance in Lok Sabha polls

Maharashtra BJP`s core group meeting in New Delhi. Pic/ X

The BJP on Tuesday ruled out any change in its leadership in Maharashtra after the party's poor showing in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, reported PTI.

The decision came after the Maharashtra BJP's core group meeting with party president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

"There will be no change in leadership in Maharashtra," Union Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters at the BJP headquarters.

The meeting was attended by state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, senior leaders Sudhir Mungantiwar, Chandrakant Patil, Pankaja Munde and Vinod Tawde, among others.

The BJP won nine seats in Maharashtra in the recent Lok Sabha elections, a far cry from its 2019 tally of 23.

As per the PTI report, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had offered to resign from the MahaYuti government of Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP and focus on the organisation to win the September-October assembly elections.

The meeting at the BJP headquarters also discussed the party's performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

The leaders discussed the Lok Sabha election performance and planned the blueprint for the upcoming assembly polls, Fadnavis said briefing reporters on the meeting.

Fadnavis said the BJP leaders will also talk with allies Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on the strategy for the assembly elections.

Eknath Shinde holds meeting with Dy CMs; BJP leaders head for review meet in Delhi

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde held a late night meeting with Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar after which some state BJP leaders left for Delhi for a review meet, sources told PTI on Tuesday.

According to PTI, details of the meeting were not available. It was convened in the backdrop of the ruling Mahayuti's below par performance in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.

"CM Shinde held a meeting with Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar at his official residence 'Varsha'. After Pawar left, Shinde and Fadnavis continued the meeting for some time," a source in the BJP told PTI on Tuesday.

BJP's central leadership has called a review meeting with state leaders in connection with the party's performance in the Lok Sabha polls.

"It is a routine exercise in the BJP to hold such review meetings with state leaders. (BJP leader) Fadnavis offered to resign some days back after the results were out. He had stated that he wished to work for the party full-time till the state assembly elections. This will also be discussed in the Delhi meeting," the source told PTI.

Union minister Bhupender Yadav has been appointed as in-charge of the Maharashtra BJP unit and Ashwini Vaishnaw as its associate in-charge.

The Maharashtra assembly elections are due in October this year.

In the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls, the ruling Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena led by CM Shinde and NCP headed by Ajit Pawar, won 17 out of 48 seats in the state.
The BJP won 9 seats, Shiv Sena 7 and NCP 1.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) of Sharad Pawar, bagged 30 seats.