Amit Shah Says ‘Sharad Pawar’s Politics of Betrayal Ended by BJP’s Massive Victory in Maharashtra Assembly Elections’

Shirdi, January 12: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said veteran politician Sharad Pawar played politics of betrayal and treachery in Maharashtra from 1978, which was ended by BJP's massive victory in the assembly polls with its resolve to establish a stable government. Addressing a state BJP convention in Shirdi, Shah said the people of Maharashtra showed Pawar, who heads NCP (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray their place by rejecting the politics of dynasty and betrayal in last year's elections.

In the 2024 assembly elections, the Mahayuti coalition of BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena won 230 of the 288 seats in the state. BJP led the pack with 132 seats. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was reduced to 46 seats, with NCP (SP) and Sena (UBT) getting 10 and 20, respectively. “Sharad Pawar started politics of ‘daga-phatka' (betrayal and treachery) in Maharashtra in 1978, which was rejected by people in 2024 (elections). Similarly, the politics of the dynasty and the betrayal of Uddhav Thackeray was also rejected. Maharashtra: Sharad Pawar-Led NCP-SP Not To Join Ajit Pawar Faction or MahaYuti Government.

“People showed Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray their place in the 2024 polls. They sent both home and made the real Shiv Sena and NCP victorious along with BJP,” he said, referring to the acrimonious splits in the undivided NCP and Shiv Sena. The elections also ended the politics of instability in Maharashtra “which began in 1978”, said Shah. In 1978, Sharad Pawar, who later founded NCP, walked out of the Vasantdada Patil government with 40 MLAs and became the CM.

The Shiv Sena (undivided) and the BJP contested the 2019 assembly polls together, but Thackeray snapped the alliance over the CM's post. BJP has repeatedly mocked him over the move. Calling BJP workers the real architects of the party's massive victory in the state, Shah said, “You are the facilitator of the party's victory from panchayat to Parliament. You have to make BJP invincible so that no one dares to betray it again.” He asked BJP workers to focus on strengthening the party at the booth level and include women and farmers in large numbers.

Shah said Sharad Pawar held the CM's post, headed several cooperative institutions and was also the Union agriculture minister, but couldn't stop farmer suicides. “Only the BJP can do it (prevent farmer suicides). Prime Minister Narendra Modi has devised several schemes for farmers' welfare,” he said. The Union minister asked the opposition to only “watch” the BJP government fulfilling all its assurances and not question how it will be done. Sharad Pawar Seeks Safety for Protesters in Santosh Deshmukh Murder Case.

“The BJP under PM Modi ensured that Ram Lalla moved from a tent to a temple after 550 years. Article 370 (giving special powers to Jammu and Kashmir) has been abrogated and terrorism has ended (in the Valley). We have promised that Naxalism will be eradicated by March 31, 2026,” he said. India's development is not possible without Maharashtra's progress and the BJP-led government in the state will accomplish it, he asserted.

Noting that the BJP's victory in Maharashtra will have long-term consequences, Shah said the historic win shattered the confidence of the INDIA group, which has over two dozen parties. Citing differences between Congress and allies in Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar, and Maharashtra, Shah said the decline of the “INDI” bloc has begun. He expressed confidence that the BJP would win the Delhi assembly elections next month hands down.

“Shiv Sena (UBT) is going solo in Maharashtra local bodies polls, AAP and Congress are fighting Delhi polls separately. Things are not good in West Bengal and Bihar for the opposition alliance. Keep your firecrackers ready on February 8 as BJP will win Delhi,” he said. Shah also urged the party workers to ensure that political opponents are wiped out and make BJP invincible.