New Delhi [India], November 22 : Political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla asserted on Friday that the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will form the government as results for the Maharastra assembly elections are set to be announced tomorrow.
Poonawalla further said that the public sentiment in the state was strongly against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"MVA will indeed form the government. One thing was certain in Maharashtra -- there was an anti-BJP atmosphere. Those who said 'batenge toh katenge' shifted to 'baatenge toh jeetenge'. Towards the end, they even released a fake audio clip of Supriya Sule and Nana Patole, which shows the BJP's nervousness. All the voters I spoke to in Maharashtra said 'sabse badi bhool, kamal ka phool'. They don't want the BJP back in power," he said while speaking to ANI.
He also commented on the recent exchange of words between Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole over the chief ministerial face of the state.
"I have seen how Sanjay Raut attacked Nana Patole. If the MVA forms the government, it's clear that Congress would emerge as the largest party. So, what is wrong if Nana Patole wants the Chief Minister to be from Congress? He is the state party chief and is expected to think in the best interest of his party. I think this can be resolved with suggestions from Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar. However, the kind of language used by Sanjay Raut shows a lack of restraint. One of the key reasons behind the collapse of the previous MVA government was also Sanjay Raut," Poonawalla said.
He highlighted that Congress leaders have constantly shown respect to Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackery and criticized Raut for publicly targeting Nana Patole.
"Congress leaders speak respectfully for Uddhav Thackeray and Bal Thackeray... If the state Congress chief wants a Congress CM, what is wrong with that? Do they not have a legitimate claim? Publicly attacking someone repeatedly -- especially Nana Patole, who is an OBC leader is inappropriate. This behaviour shows arrogance, and the people of Maharashtra do not like this," Poonawalla added.
Responding to Nana Patole's alleged remarks about a Congress-led MVA government on Thursday, Sanjay Raut dismissed the idea and said, "No one will accept this."
"I will not accept this, and no one else will accept this. We will sit together and decide if Nana Patole has said this and whether Nana Patole has the Congress high command's backing. The Congress high command has said that if you (Patole) are becoming the Chief Minister, then Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Sonia Gandhi should announce it," Raut told reporters.
This assembly election is the first in Maharashtra following the splits in both Shiv Sena and the NCP. The counting of votes is scheduled for Saturday, November 23.
Meanwhile, most exit polls have predicted the Mahayuti alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP will return to power, with the MVA, which includes Congress, NCP (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT), putting up a good show but falling short of a majority.