'Saamana' Alleges BJP's 70 Seat Victory Due to 'Technical Scams,' Blames Election Commission

The BJP would have lost at least 100 seats if the Election Commission had not worked behind the screens for the BJP, 'Saamana', the mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction), said in its editorial.

The editorial questioned the victory margin and the seats won by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in over 70 seats, Times Now reported and said, "Everyone wants Indian elections to be free from money, crime, and scams, but unfortunately, this did not happen this time either."

The editorial alleged that due to various technical scams, the BJP won at least 60 to 70 seats across the country, including one in Mumbai, for which the Election Commission should be held accountable. Criticizing the EC, the editorial claimed that "the EC's decision to grant the party symbol to Shinde was illegal and affected voting patterns, as people intending to vote for Uddhav Thackeray ended up voting for the Shinde faction."

'Saamana' further targeted President Draupadi Murmu for welcoming Narendra Modi with a bowl of curd and sugar after he went to stake a claim for forming the government. The sight, according to the editorial, is disturbing to those who believe in the democratic constitution.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had kicked off the campaign trail with a target of winning 400 seats. The exit polls and pre-poll surveys had claimed that the Modi will return to power with a full majority.

However, the result came as a surprise as the BJP was reduced to 240 from 303 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It fell 32 seats short of a majority. Overall, the NDA has 290 seats including TDP's 16 seats and JDU's 12 seats.

As far as Maharashtra is concerned, The BJP secured only 9 seats, with its allies Shiv Sena (7) and NCP (1) also contributing. In contrast, the Congress won 13 seats, followed by Shiv Sena (UBT) with 9 seats and the NCP with 8 seats.

In the last general elections, the BJP and unified Shiv Sena had won 41 seats (BJP (23) and SS (18)).