Now Reading: BJP, Shiv Sena trade blame after Mahayuti loses MLC polls
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BJP, Shiv Sena trade blame after Mahayuti loses MLC polls
The Story in Brief
The BJP has accused its ally Shiv Sena of undermining the Mahayuti alliance after the ruling coalition won only two of the five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats that went to polls on 23 October, while the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) won three. Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban alleged that the Shiv Sena failed to fulfil its alliance obligations in the Pune and Nagpur constituencies and extended last-minute support to independent candidate Sachin Sanap in the Pune teachers' constituency, which he said cost the alliance an opportunity to win three seats.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Anand Paranjape shot back, saying the BJP should not have fielded an outsider candidate, Smita Jadhav, in the Pune Graduates' seat, who was not even a party member when nominated. He said BJP's own workers and voters rejected her, and advised the BJP to respect its allies and introspect on the results. Paranjape added that the party had sought one seat out of the two Pune constituencies from day one, and that maintaining the unity of the Mahayuti is the responsibility of all allies.
The BJP's Kaustubh Gawade won the Pune Teachers' seat, and the Shiv Sena's Kiran Sarnaik won the Amravati Teachers' seat. The MVA won the Pune Graduates', Nagpur Graduates' and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates' seats.
Indian Opinion Analysis
All three outlets report the same exchange of accusations between the BJP and the Shiv Sena in identical wire-style language, without favouring either side. The Indian Express, New Indian Express and National Herald each lead with BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban's claim that the Shiv Sena cost the alliance a sweep, then give equal space to Shiv Sena's Anand Paranjape's counter that the BJP fielded an outsider. None of the outlets add analysis, omit a key charge or editorialise. The uniform coverage means the story stands on the direct quotes from both allies. The next development to watch is whether the Mahayuti coordination committee meets to address the rift before the next round of elections.
Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
Sources (3): indianexpress.com (neutral report), newindianexpress.com (neutral report), nationalheraldindia.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
Update, 29 October 2026: this story now draws on 3 sources.
