BJP will form govt. in Maharashtra in 2024: Fadnavis   

BJP leader mocks Sena, Congress’s dismal performance in Goa 

Exulting after the BJP’s electoral triumph in four States including Goa, former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP’s Goa election in-charge, asserted that his party would form the government in Maharashtra after the 2024 Assembly election with full majority.

Speaking in Mumbai where he was welcomed by jubilant party workers near the party’s Nariman Point office following the BJP’s triumph in Goa, Mr. Fadnavis said the party’s next target was to rid the Shiv Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) of corruption.

“We want to rescue the civic body from the clutches of corruption. The BJP is not against any party [read Sena] per se, but against corruption,” said Mr. Fadnavis.

In a bid to checkmate the Sena, the BJP has been eyeing the cash-rich BMC, which is the Sena’s power and resource base in Maharashtra and has been controlled by the Uddhav Thackeray-led party for more than two decades.

Remarking that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘magic’ had shone through in the Assembly election results, Mr Fadnavis said whether it was the Covid-19 pandemic or any other crisis, Mr. Modi had managed to create a trust among the country’s electorate that saw it being translated into votes.

The BJP’s long-standing alliance with the Sena unravelled after the two saffron parties bickered over the Chief Minister’s post following the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election. Consequently the Sena formed an alliance with the ideologically opposed NCP and the Congress to keep the BJP out of power despite the latter emerging as the single-largest party with 105 seats.

Taking potshots at the Congress’ performance in Goa, Mr. Fadnavis said the party thought it would win and had already sought an appointment with the Governor of Goa (P.S. Shreedharan Pillai).