Pune: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had aggressively campaigned for the Lok Sabha elections, claiming they would win over 400 seats. However, the party secured only 240 seats nationwide. Now, ahead of the Assembly elections, BJP State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule has adopted a more cautious approach, refraining from disclosing the number of seats the party aims to win.
"In the Mahayuti, we are the elder brother. The number of seats we will win will be determined by the people, and the party leaders will decide who will be the Chief Minister," Bawankule stated.
Bawankule made these remarks at a press conference organized by the Pune Shramik Patrakar Sangh, where he was accompanied by State Vice President Madhav Bhandari, Rajesh Pandey, City President Dheeraj Ghate, and Sandeep Khardekar.
Bawankule emphasized, "Everyone acknowledges that BJP is the elder brother in the Mahayuti. Sometimes, we also play the role of the younger brother. The decision on who will be the Chief Minister will be made by the grand alliance leaders, not at the state executive meeting.
Our focus should be on reaching out to the people to ensure the Mahayuti wins. We aim to secure the necessary seats to form the government, but the final number will be decided by the voters. Ajit Pawar has full authority to strengthen the organization in all 288 constituencies."
Assembly Strategy to be Discussed at State Executive Meeting
The BJP State Executive meeting will be held on July 21 at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi. Over 5,300 office bearers from across the state will attend.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate the meeting at 10 AM, and it will be attended by Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Maharashtra in-charge Bhupendra Yadav. Union Minister Amit Shah will preside over the closing session.
The meeting will focus on strategies for the Assembly elections, voter lists, booth mechanisms, and the work done by the state and central governments. A resolution congratulating Narendra Modi on his third term as Prime Minister will also be presented, Bawankule mentioned.
'Samvad Yatra' in August
To expose the alleged deceit of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the BJP will conduct a 'Samvad Yatra' across the state from August 9 to 15. Leaders from 20 states will visit all 288 Assembly constituencies to engage with voters.
Bawankule pointed out that during the Lok Sabha elections, false propaganda was spread that the BJP would amend the Constitution and deny tribal rights.
"We will expose these lies to the public. During Uddhav Thackeray's tenure as Chief Minister, eight central government schemes were halted. We will present the case for having the same government at both the central and state levels to the voters," he said.