BJP didn't lose Maharashtra polls, Shiv Sena 'betrayed us', says Nitin Gadkari; union minister accuses ex-ally of betraying its ideology

Nagpur: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said the BJP did not lose last year’s Maharashtra Assembly elections, but was betrayed by the Shiv Sena. He also said that the Sena not only left its ally, but also its own ideology. [caption id=“attachment_4839811” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Union minister Nitin Gadkari. PTI[/caption] Speaking at the BJP workers’ meeting, Gadkari said, “I don’t think BJP lost the election. Shiv Sena left us and its own ideology. BJP has not lost the elections, but it has been betrayed.” The BJP and the Sena, which fought the 21 October state Assembly polls in alliance, had secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats respectively. However, the Sena broke its three-decade-long ties with the BJP after the latter declined to share the chief minister’s post with it. The Sena then joined hands with the NCP and the Congress and formed a government headed by Uddhav Thackeray. On the recently-held Zilla Parishad results in Nagpur, Gadkari said the BJP should have got more voting percentage. “But BJP’s strength is still intact in Nagpur rural and the city and those who have come together against us are afraid of our strength. They may have come together, but we will defeat them,” he said. Earlier this month, the BJP lost control of the ZP in Nagpur, the home district of Gadkari and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Gadkari asked the workers to focus on expanding the party base and reaching out to the people.