Self-Goal: Shiv Sena Says Giving CM Post To Nitish In Bihar Despite JD(U) Finishing Third Is An “Insult To Democracy”

Shiv Sena - one of the coalition partners ruling in Maharashtra - was mocked by social media users for a comment published in its mouthpiece Saamana on the recent Bihar elections in which the NDA won an absolute majority with 125 seats.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal emerged as the party with the highest number of seats at 75. Bharatiya Janata party came just one behind with 74 seats. Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) came third with 43 seats.

The Sena mouthpiece noted that giving the chief ministership to Nitish Kumar despite his party coming third is an 'insult of democracy’, calling it akin to giving the gold medal to a wrestler who lost the bout.

The irony was not lost on the social media users who questioned Sena’s own record of breaking-up a pre-poll alliance with BJP to come to power in alliance with the Congress and NCP.

In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the prepoll NDA alliance with BJP and Shiv Sena crossed the majority mark. BJP had gotten 105 seats, Sena was a distant second with 56, and very close to the third spot holder NCP with 54 seats.

Shiv Sena then joined hands with NCP and the Congress party to form a government under the chief ministership of Uddhav Thackeray.

Social media users pointed out that Nitish Kumar was the leader under which the NDA alliance won the elections in Bihar, unlike the case in Maharashtra where Fadnavis was the projected chief minister face.

In Bihar, Kumar’s party won 58 per cent seats as compared to BJP, while Shiv Sena got 53 per cent seats as compared to BJP, and demanded the post of the chief minister.

Another use pointed out that Shiv Sena was feeling burnt by the treatment accorded by the BJP to the JD(U) by giving the chief ministership to Nitish Kumar in Bihar. On the other hand, it had refused to budge on a similar demand made by Sena in Maharashtra.