29 October,2026 06:24 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut. File Pic
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) lawmaker Sanjay Raut on Thursday claimed that graduates had rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, defeating them through ballot papers. His remarks came after the ruling Mahayuti alliance lost all three graduates' constituencies that went to polls last week.
Raut, however, said alliance partners had failed to follow alliance dharma in both the ruling coalition and the Opposition camp, news agency PTI reported.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), a constituent of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), failed to win any seat in the elections.
Of the five graduates' and teachers' constituencies of the Maharashtra Legislative Council that went to polls on October 23, the MVA won three, while the BJP-led Mahayuti secured two.
The Congress won a close contest in the Nagpur graduates' constituency, while its MVA ally, the NCP (SP), bagged the Pune and Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) graduates' seats. The BJP and its ally, Shiv Sena, won the Pune and Amravati teachers' constituencies, respectively.
Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's social media post mocking the Congress for failing to win any of the 28 Legislative Council seats that went to polls, Raut said such remarks against the principal Opposition party did not befit someone holding the office of Prime Minister.
The Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) said the trends had reversed within hours of Modi's post, with the Congress winning the Nagpur graduates' constituency.
Modi had mocked the Congress on Wednesday over its poor performance despite the elections being held using paper ballots, a key demand of Opposition parties campaigning against electronic voting machines (EVMs). The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 16 of the 28 seats.
Raut said that following the Congress's victory in Nagpur, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had to delete a social media post on the council election results.
"The BJP faced defeat in Nagpur and Varanasi seats. Graduates defeated the BJP in Marathwada, Western Maharashtra and Vidarbha. Educated voters have rejected the BJP," he claimed.
Raut also attributed the BJP's defeat in Maharashtra to the use of ballot papers. He said the party had lost in the state only because the elections were conducted using paper ballots.
On the failure of allies to support each other in the council elections, Raut said alliance dharma had not been followed by either side.
He pointed out that the Amravati teachers' constituency should have been allotted to the Shiv Sena (UBT), as none of the MVA allies had a sitting MLC there.
The Congress fielded Aditi Pohare in Amravati, but Shiv Sena candidate Kiran Sarnaik won the teachers' constituency.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) had also fielded a candidate in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Marathwada) graduates' constituency, which was won by its MVA ally, the NCP (SP).
(With PTI inputs)
