05 May,2026 02:57 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sanjay Raut addresses the media in Mumbai on Tuesday. PIC/PTI
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday blamed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the poll debacle, calling it a "grave crime" that she did not listen to Rahul Gandhi.
"This is a grave crime by Mamata Didi that she did not listen to Rahul Gandhi. If Mamata Didi had sat down with Rahul Gandhi and discussed the matter, the results would have been different. What Rahul Gandhi said has come true. He is a visionary leader. The elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are stolen..." Raut told reporters in Mumbai.
In the interaction, Raut said, "The votes that have been stolen, the elections have been stolen... Rahul Gandhi was repeatedly saying that Mamata didi... He did not listen to Rahul Gandhi. If Mamata didi would have sat with Rahul Gandhi and discussed, then some more results would have come. Whatever Rahul Gandhi has said has come true. He has a vision."
Raut further predicted a similar fate for the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, comparing it to the defeat of Indira Gandhi. "This is what is going to happen to Modi. This is what is going to happen to BJP... Whenever the lamp is lit, the fire in our Marathas gets bigger. The fire gets stronger," he added.
On Monday, Raut told reporters that hatred, communalism and SIR (Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls) defeated Banerjee, adding that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) achieved victory in the eastern state "not through the right means".
He added that the candle burns brightest right before it burns out. This is the beginning of the end of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) claimed.
He also said it is time for the Opposition to unite as major parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu and Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal are headed for defeat.
"Hatred, communalism, SIR stopped Mamata Banerjee's victory. Her defeat was impossible. Today's BJP victory was achieved not through right means," Raut said while pointing out that 92 lakh names were deleted from the voters list in the SIR carried out by the Election Commission.
He further alleged that central para-military forces also helped BJP workers.
The BJP allied with the Election Commission, which led to TMC's defeat, Raut said.
"Even if the BJP wins in West Bengal or Assam, it is not easy for them to govern the country. What great work has the NDA done in the last one year. There is unemployment, there is inflation, people are not getting gas cylinders. India's image is being defamed," Raut said.
Reacting to the assembly poll results, NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar said anti-incumbency appeared to have affected the INDI bloc parties in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
(With ANI and PTI inputs)
