BJP 'balloon' falling? Shiv Sena fires cryptic salvo at on-off ally after its local body polls defeat

Mumbai: Rapping BJP over its defeat in the recent local body elections, Shiv Sena on Wednesday said balloons that fly in air do not remain there for long and cautioned that the results indicate Maharashtra’s “political environment is in danger”. [caption id=“attachment_2582118” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. PTI[/caption] It also said that the Congress’ win in local bodies polls is “only a trailer” and “the film is yet to begin”. “Inspite of having a strong leadership in the state and people’s mandate, the Congress is surging ahead. The BJP Chief Minister has to take note of this,” an editorial in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said. “The party won handsomely in Lok Sabha polls due to the Modi wave, but history has shown that balloons that fly in the air do not remain there for long,” it said. The ruling alliance partner further said that the mistakes which were making people uncomfortable needed to be assessed. “If the atmosphere that was created during the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls is now suffocating people, it needs to be ascertained what mistakes are being made that are causing it. The results (of local bodies polls) are an indication that Maharashtra’s political environment is in danger,” it said. The Sena also sought to know if people were now equating BJP’s work, after it came to power, with that of the Congress which had suffered a major defeat in the Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls. “There is severe drought in the state. The government keeps on making announcements but the throats of farmers are parched. Their problems will not end by merely making announcements. The Congress’ win in the local body polls is only a trailer, the film is yet to begin,” the editorial said. Notably, Congress registered an impressive performance, leading the seat tally by winning in 105 wards in the municipal council and nagar panchayat polls and bypolls for 345 wards held across the state on Sunday. While NCP (won 80 wards) and Shiv Sena (bagged 59 wards) finished second and third respectively, the BJP had to be content with only 39 seats, finishing fourth in the overall seat tally. PTI