Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday criticized the Congress for its poor performance in the recent Maharashtra elections, accusing the party of being rejected by voters across most states in the country. He claimed that the Congress’ “shop of illusion, lies, and deception” had been completely shut down by the people.
In a post on X, Pradhan highlighted that Maharashtra had become the 17th state where the Congress now holds less than 10 per cent of the legislative assembly seats. He pointed out that the people of several states, including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Delhi, and Tripura, had decisively rejected the party and its leader, Rahul Gandhi.
“The people of most states in the country have completely shut down the Congress’ shop of illusion, lies, and deception. Maharashtra has become the 17th state where the Congress has less than 10 per cent of MLAs. The people of many states, including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Delhi, and Tripura, have completely rejected Rahul Gandhi and the Congress,” Pradhan said.
Pradhan also condemned the Congress’ divisive tactics, claiming they had failed. He added, “The Congress’ attempts to divide people along North-South lines have been decisively rejected. People from every region have united to crush the Congress’ divisive thinking. To save itself, Congress has resorted to low-level politics, even on issues of national interest. The party now lacks both policy and direction. It has become a platform for empty promises and the preservation of a single family’s reputation. The people of India have made their decision–Congress in opposition is the way forward for the country’s progress.”
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance suffered a significant defeat in Maharashtra, where Congress secured only 16 seats. The Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray won 20 seats, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) managed just 10 seats. In contrast, the BJP emerged as the biggest winner with 132 seats, with its allies–the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the NCP faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar–winning 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
In Haryana, the BJP secured its third consecutive term in power, winning 48 out of the 90 seats in the assembly, while the Congress won 37 seats.