MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stated on Saturday that many loyal voters of the ruling 'Mahayuti' alliance, which is part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) including his party Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar, went on holiday during the Lok Sabha elections. These voters, feeling confident that the saffron alliance would secure more than 400 seats in the 543-member lower house of Parliament, did not turn up to vote which was the main reason for the setback in the Lok Sabha elections.

Shinde claimed that opposition voters were diligent, with an almost 80 per cent turnout, which benefited them. The Mahayuti alliance performed poorly in the recent state’s Lok Sabha elections, winning only 17 of the state’s 48 seats. This has concerned the alliance parties, prompting reflection post-election. The BJP’s tally dropped to 9 from the 23 seats it won in 2019, while the Sena secured 7 seats and the NCP won just 1. Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra, was defeated by Supriya Sule, the daughter of NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar, by a margin of 1,58,333 votes. On the other hand, the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress Party, Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP), won 30 seats, becoming the larger bloc.

During a joint rally of ruling Mahayuti allies, CM Shinde said, "We were caught off guard by the opposition during the Lok Sabha election. Some of our voters went on holiday during polling, assuming the NDA would easily win more than 400 seats in the general elections. This loss highlights the need for a more strategic approach in the future." He added, "If 60 per cent of our voters had turned up at the polling booths, we could have easily won 40 seats. We can't afford to be naive or careless after this setback in the Lok Sabha polls."

Supporting Shinde's claims, BJP's senior leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that NDA leaders did not pay enough attention to the lies spread by the opposition during the campaign. Fadnavis also pointed out that some alliance leaders made public statements against each other, advising them to consult their leaders before speaking out.