Ashok Chavan blames state leadership

Mumbai, Oct. 19: Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan Sunday blamed the state leadership for the drubbing received by the Congress in the Assembly polls and dismissed the notion of any “Modi wave”.

“The BJP has not won because there was some Modi wave here. It all boils down to the anti- incumbency factor. Had the state leadership handled issues more responsibly, we would have been much better off than what we are today,” he said.

The Congress- NCP breakup at the eleventh hour dented the image of both the parties in the mind of the electorate, he said.

“We worked very hard for the welfare of our state in the last 15 years, but we failed to project our achievements and our development in front of the people. I wish the state leadership had handled the election issue carefully,” said the Lok Sabha MP from Nanded. Congress will start working on its revival plan without wasting any time, he said. Meanwhile, the NCP blamed former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan for the poor showing by the party and also the Congress in the Assembly polls.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said Mr Chavan’s move to get even with his rivals within his party Congress and the Sharad Pawar- led outfit led to the debacle of the former allies, who ruled the state for 15 years before parting ways.

The Congress, meanwhile, said is “not surprised” over the NCP’s announcement that it is willing to extend outside support to BJP to form government in Maharashtra. A senior AICC functionary said, “It was well- planned. Now it is playing out what I had apprehended long back. We are not at all surprised.”