Uddhav Thackeray – ‘Leaving BJP and joining MVA was Uddhav’s betrayal’, Piyush Goyal targeted – Piyush Goyal says It was Uddhav Thackeray betrayal to leave BJP and join MVA ntc
Union Minister Piyush Goyal hit out at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, saying his decision to break ties with the BJP in 2019 and join hands with the Congress and NCP (then undivided) by abandoning the philosophy of his father and party founder Bal Thackeray. The decision was a ‘treacherous step’. He made this comment regarding the scenario after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, when Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (Undivided) left the NDA following differences over the post of Chief Minister.
Piyush Goyal said in an exclusive interview to India Today News Director Rahul Kanwal, ‘In 2019, Shiv Sena fought with us and took advantage of PM Modi’s popularity. The people of Maharashtra trusted the Modi-Fadnavis combination and voted for us. But, they (Shiv Sena) stabbed us in the back, just for the greed of power, just for the Chief Minister’s chair.
‘That was a treacherous step by Uddhav Thackeray’
He said, ‘They did this despite us having half the seats. Abandoning the philosophy of Balasaheb Thackeray was a treacherous step. It was a betrayal by Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP to accept Shiv Sena into their fold.
The Union Minister said that the mandate in the 2014 and 2019 assembly elections in Maharashtra was for PM Modi and the Mahayuti alliance. He also said that Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena is the ‘real’ Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP is the ‘real’ NCP.
‘Shinde led Shiv Sena is the real one’
Asked whether the BJP is ready to welcome newly elected Shiv Sena (UBT) MLAs into its fold after the results of this year’s assembly elections, Piyush Goyal said, ‘We have to be worried about some of their elected MLAs. No need. The real Shiv Sena with the election symbol of bow and arrow, which is working to make Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology a reality, is the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. He described Ajit Pawar as a ‘popular leader’ of NCP and criticized Sharad Pawar.
‘Ajit Pawar’s leadership is true leadership’
Piyush Goyal said, ‘I read an interesting comment by Sharad Pawar that he had founded NCP. Look, people form parties, but the ideology of the party is important. He did not stick to the ideology of the party and that is why more than 75-80 percent of the MLAs decided to remain with Ajit Pawar and almost all of them were re-elected. It is clear from this that the leadership of NCP Ajit Pawar is the true leadership and he is with us.
Piyush Goyal said that NDA’s victory for the third consecutive time in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was ‘unprecedented and a matter of surprise for the entire world’. The Union Minister said it was ‘unfortunate’ that the BJP lost many seats in the Lok Sabha elections by very small margins. The BJP failed to cross the majority mark of 272 for the first time in 10 years, getting 240 seats and had to depend on allies like TDP and JD(U) to cross the line.
‘Voters of Maharashtra and Haryana wanted to vote for PM Modi’
He said the voting percentage was low because people believed that PM Modi would be re-elected for the third time. The Union Minister said, ‘This was the trust earned by PM Modi among the people. In Haryana and Maharashtra, many voters who were embarrassed and who had disappointed PM Modi wanted to go out and vote to support him with a vengeance.’
