No Leadership Change In Maharashtra BJP Despite Lok Sabha Election Setback

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ruled out any changes in its leadership in Maharashtra in the aftermath of the electoral setback it suffered in the state in the Lok Sabha elections.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal confirmed the decision following a high-level meeting with party chief JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

"There will be no change in leadership in Maharashtra," Goyal told reporters after the meeting.

This announcement comes after the BJP managed to secure only nine seats in Maharashtra in the recent Lok Sabha elections, a sharp decline from its 2019 tally of 23 seats.

The performance marked the party’s second worst defeat after Uttar Pradesh.

In 2019, the BJP, allied with the then undivided Shiv Sena, won 23 of the 25 seats it contested in Maharashtra, while the Shiv Sena won 18 of the 23 seats it contested.

This time, the BJP won just nine seats, while its allies, the splinter groups of the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar, won eight of the 19 seats they contested.

Following the election results, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had offered to resign but Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked him to continue working for the state government .

"I had led the BJP in this Lok Sabha election, so I said I am responsible for this defeat. I had asked to be allowed to leave my post so that I could work at the grassroots for the Vidhan Sabha elections. But the top leadership showed faith in me," Fadnavis had said on 7 June.

"Some people thought that I was disappointed, but I am not going to run away. Our inspiration is Chhatrapati Shivaji. I have not taken any emotional decision; I have a strategy in mind," he added. NDTV reported.

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