Are we moving towards 'one party, one nation'? Uddhav Thackeray expresses shock over BJP's win in Maharashtra polls

Speaking to reporters on Saturday evening, after poll results were declared, a visibly shocked Thackeray said: "Cannot believe Maharashtra, which listened to me as head of family during COVID, will behave with me this way... How could they (the ruling alliance) win so many seats in just a matter of four months? Where did they light candles for such a result?"

Maharashtra's ruling coalition, Mahayuti, on Saturday turned the tide by securing a strong mandate in the Assembly elections months after facing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.

In the Lok Sabha elections, the alliance managed to win only 17 of the state’s 48 seats.

The alliance headed by Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde, BJP led by Devendra Fadnavis and NCP’s Ajit Pawar has returned to power with a thumping majority.

Claiming that the Vikas Aghadi rallies were better attended than that of the ruling alliance, he said, "People listened to us, not to Modi and Amit Shah. The people said they don't need to listen to them. Did they decide to vote without listening to them?" he said, then added in a sarcastic vein, "How can an empty chair turn into votes".

During the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won nine seats, Shiv Sena secured seven, and NCP won just one seat. These results covered 125 Assembly segments, falling short of the 145-majority mark.

On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) secured 30 Lok Sabha seats—13 by the Congress, nine by Shiv Sena (led by Uddhav Thackeray), and eight by Sharad Pawar’s NCP—spanning 153 Assembly segments.

This time, the BJP emerged with the highest strike rate, securing 132 seats compared to 105 in 2019—a significant improvement.

This performance is being viewed as Mahayuti’s resurgence in Maharashtra following the Lok Sabha setback.

The Shiv Sena won 55 Assembly seats, while Ajit Pawar’s NCP claimed victory in 41 constituencies.

This time, the Mahayuti retained all but eight of the 125 Assembly segments it had won during the Lok Sabha polls.

The result, however, has raised a big question of whether Eknath Shinde will remain Chief Minister.

When he joined hands with the BJP after the 2022 mutiny, where he toppled the Uddhav Thackeray government, Shinde had become Chief Minister despite the BJP being the bigger party in the coalition.

Former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis agreed to accept the Deputy Chief Minister post then.

Earlier, criticising the INDIA bloc for its disappointing performance in Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked, "They fail to grasp the shifting sentiment of the nation. Not only do they refuse to accept the reality, but they continue to underestimate the wisdom of India's common voters. The electorate stands firmly with the principle of 'Nation First' and has little regard for those fixated on 'chair first' ambitions."