In a direct attack on its ally Bharatiya Janata Party, senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday said the slogan '400 paar' proved counter-productive, pushing the Dalit community away from the alliance.
"By repeating '400 paar, 400 paar' from the beginning, it became so ingrained in the minds of the Dalit community that they feared the constitution would be changed. It became increasingly difficult to remove this thought from their minds," Bhujbal said, addressing a party executive meeting in Mumbai.
"Modi saheb himself had to reassure in a channel's interview for 15-20 minutes that this will not happen, that we will not change the constitution, and that we are even going to celebrate Constitution Year," he added.
"But this idea had become deeply imprinted in the Dalits' minds, and we likely experienced the consequences of this in the Lok Sabha elections," Bhujbal noted.
Along with Bhujbal, the party's state chief Sunil Tatkare also acknowledged that the issue of possible constitutional changes resonated within the state.
"Two major issues were highlighted in this election. Our opponents in Maharashtra primarily focused on these two issues and might have succeeded to some extent. The first issue was the campaign run by our opponents suggesting that if the NDA government returned to power, it would change the constitution. This was used to create divisions among castes and religions," Tatkare said in his speech.
Despite these challenges, Tatkare expressed confidence that all the party's candidates, including himself, would emerge victorious in the election.
Several state presidents of the erstwhile unified NCP also joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP during the meeting. The NCP Youth Wing President, Dheeraj Sharma, was among those who joined.
"This is an indication of the future. Even before the results are declared, people are joining our party. It shows what the results will likely be on June 4," said Tatkare.