G Parameshwara blames NCP(SP) and Shiv Sena for Congress's defeat in Maharashtra, cites EVM tampering

Karnataka Minister and senior Congress leader G Parameshwara has criticized the party’s alliance partners, Sharad Pawar’s NCP(SP) and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), for their failure to effectively execute the campaign in the Maharashtra assembly elections. Parameshwara, who was also the All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer for Maharashtra, highlighted the lack of coordination between the alliance partners, particularly in the Vidarbha region. “Sharad Pawar's group and Uddhav Thackeray's group were not well aligned, didn’t campaign as planned, and Vidarbha did not give us many seats,” he stated. The Congress had initially hoped to secure at least 50 seats from Vidarbha, but the region did not meet those expectations.

The Congress party contested 101 seats as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, but the result was far from favorable, with the party managing to secure only 16 seats. Parameshwara pointed to internal confusion over ticket distribution, which he said contributed to the party’s poor showing. “We finally in the end announced the ticket and there was confusion in the party,” he explained. Despite efforts to implement programs like the Ladli Bahin Yojana, which Parameshwara noted was impactful, the campaign did not generate the expected results.

Adding to the concerns, Parameshwara suggested that technical issues with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) may have contributed to Congress’s defeat. He alleged that the EVMs were “hacked selectively,” although he clarified that the issue was not widespread. “As long as there are EVMs, it will be difficult for Congress to come,” he remarked. The former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel were reportedly part of an internal review meeting within Congress, where they analyzed the election results and noted discrepancies they believed could be linked to the EVMs.

The final results of the Maharashtra assembly elections showed a clear victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which secured 230 seats out of the 288 contested. This result was a major blow to the Congress, which faced its worst-ever electoral performance in the state. The Congress’s poor showing in Maharashtra meant that the party did not secure enough seats to claim the position of Leader of Opposition (LoP), marking a significant setback.

The BJP-led alliance's win was bolstered by the rejection of Congress and its allies by the voters, who were reportedly dissatisfied with the promises made during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule commented that Congress’s defeat was due to the “wrong deeds” of the opposition, accusing them of spreading false narratives during the Lok Sabha elections. The defeat in Maharashtra follows a larger trend of setbacks for Congress in recent state elections, leaving the party with fewer seats and reduced political influence in the region.