Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stated on Sunday that the Shiv Sena, under his leadership, would have secured seats in double digits in the Lok Sabha elections if candidates in 3 to 4 constituencies had not been changed.
“If we had not changed our candidates on 3-4 seats, our tally would have been in double digits. We indeed performed well in the Lok Sabha elections,” he told a gathering of Shiv Sena workers.
In the first Lok Sabha election following the split in the undivided Shiv Sena, the faction led by Eknath Shinde secured seven seats out of the 15 constituencies it contested, while the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) won nine out of 21 constituencies. The Shinde-led Sena replaced candidates in the Yavatmal-Washim and Hingoli Lok Sabha seats. Additionally, the announcement of Nashik candidate Hemant Godse was delayed by several weeks due to a lack of consensus among the constituents of the Shiv Sena-led Mahayuti alliance, which includes the BJP and NCP.
However, sources within the Shiv Sena claimed that the party had been reluctant to replace candidates but was pressured to do so based on certain electoral surveys. They noted that the poll results fell short of their expectations and attributed the losses in some constituencies to the significant delays in finalizing candidates.