"Congress in tukde tukde mode": Shehzad Poonawalla

New Delhi [India], January 17 (ANI): BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Saturday said that reports emerging of Congress leader Bhai Jagtap blaming party MP Varsha Gaikwad for the poor performance in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections indicated that the Opposition party was slipping into " tukde tukde" mode.
Reacting to the remarks, Poonawalla said "It is Congress versus Congress. Till now, we have seen it in Delhi. Rahul Congress versus Priyanka Congress. DK Congress versus Siddaramaiah Congress. Gehlot versus Pilot Congress. Now it is Bhai Jagtap versus Varsha Gaikwad Congress," he said.
Poonawala further argued that the internal blame game exposed a lack of confidence within the Congress leadership itself, particularly questioning Rahul Gandhi's claims of "vote-chori". "It is a no-confidence in Rahul's narrative that 'vote-chori' happened because the leaders are saying it is not 'vote-chori', it is 'kaam-chori', it is 'kamzori', 'sangathan ki kamzori'," he said, adding the Congress party has gone into a "self-destruct mode."
Congress recorded a weak showing in the BMC elections and other civic polls across Maharashtra. Following the results in 29 municipal corporations, Bhai Jagtap demanded Varsha Gaikwad's resignation as Mumbai Congress chief.
According to official figures released by the Election Commission and the BMC, the BJP won 89 seats, polling 11,79,273 votes, which accounts for 21.58 per cent of the total votes cast. Among all winning candidates, the BJP's vote share stands at 45.22 per cent, making it the single largest party in the civic body. Its alliance partner, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), secured 29 seats with 2,73,326 votes, translating into 5.00 per cent of the total vote share.
Together, the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) alliance emerged as the largest bloc in the BMC. On the other side, the Shiv Sena (UBT), contesting in alliance with the MNS, won 65 seats. The UBT-led Sena polled 7,17,736 votes, accounting for 13.13 per cent of the total votes cast.
The MNS added 6 seats to the alliance tally, with 74,946 votes and a 1.37 per cent vote share. The Indian National Congress (INC) secured 24 seats, polling 2,42,646 votes, which represents 4.44 per cent of the total vote share. Among other parties, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) won 8 seats with 68,072 votes.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured 3 seats, the Samajwadi Party won 2 seats, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won 1 seat. Overall, winning candidates from recognised political parties polled 26,07,612 votes, amounting to 47.72 per cent of the total votes cast.
The total number of votes polled in the election stood at 54,64,412, while 11,677 voters opted for NOTA. The results reflect a fragmented but competitive civic mandate, with alliances playing a decisive role in shaping the final outcome of the BMC elections. (ANI)