Lok Sabha elections 2024: Love for son and daughter caused split in Shiv Sena and NCP, says Amit Shah

Amit Shah. File Pic

Union Home Minister and senior BJP Amit Shah on Sunday said that the love for the son and daughter was responsible for the respective split in Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the NCP headed by Sharad Pawar, reported the PTI.

Addressing a rally at Sakoli town in Maharashtra's Bhandara district, Amit Shah also played on the alleged differences among Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies- Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Congress- over sharing of seats to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024.

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"The split in the Shiv Sena and NCP took place because of Uddhav's love for his son (Aaditya Thackeray, an MLA) and Sharad Pawar's love for his daughter (Baramati MP Supriya Sule)," Amit Shah said as he slammed the opposition for blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for breaking the parties, as per the PTI.

Taking potshots, Amit Shah said that the situation is such that the truncated Shiv Sena and NCP have "halved" the Congress in the state in terms of sharing of seats for elections.

"I wonder if these three parties will do any good for Maharashtra," Amit Shah added.

Notably, Congress was forced to cede Sangli, Bhiwandi, and Mumbai South Central constituencies to allies in the seat-sharing deal.

Despite losing a bulk of MPs and MLAs, who joined the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in 2022, the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction managed to get 21 seats in the seat-sharing deal with MVA partners.

The NCP headed by Sharad Pawar split last year when his nephew Ajit Pawar joined the Mahayuti government comprising the Shinde-led Sena and BJP.

As per the MVA seat-sharing pact, the NCP (SP) will contest 10 seats and the Congress 17.

Notably, Amit Shah last Thursday termed the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition an "auto-rickshaw with mismatching spare parts" which will fail to perform, the news agency reported on Sunday.

During an election rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had termed as "nakli" (duplicate) the Shiv Sena led by Thackeray, evoking a sharp reaction.

Meanwhile, Amit Shah on Sunday mocked Rahul Gandhi for vowing to remove poverty, saying the then prime minister Indira Gandhi had also promised to do so but nothing happened in her tenure and later under Rajiv Gandhi government, according to the PTI.

(with PTI inputs)