Former Sena MPs Tumane and Gawali blame BJP for poll loss

Two former MPs from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, who were denied tickets in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, on Friday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the debacle of the ruling alliance in the state. While former Sena MP Krupal Tumane, who was denied ticket from Ramtek seat, held state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule responsible for the defeat in Ramtek, former Sena MP Bhavana Gawali who was denied ticket from Yavatmal-Washim, said that there was pressure on Shinde and the party, to drop her. “I’m disappointed with the loss in Ramtek.I don’t know what kind of survey the state BJP chief carried out, but he insisted that my ticket should be cut. I don’t know his motive. The state BJP chief asked the CM to give ticket to Congress turncoat Raju Parwe. He put pressure on CM Shinde to cut my ticket. Bawankule is responsible for the defeat in Ramtek. The BJP must introspect,” said Tumane. In all, the Shinde-led Sena had dropped five sitting Sena MPs out of 13 in the state. “A script was written. I feel that when such scripts are written, they are not in the interest of the party. CM Shinde was eager to give me a ticket. But there were several issues. We have done good work for Shiv Sena in Vidarbha. But a different picture emerged as the political calculus changed,” Gawli said. Hemant Godse , the Sena candidate from Nashik who lost to Sena UBT’s Raja bhau Waze, blamed Chhagan Bhujbal for his defeat and claimed that his campaigning was not done by the alliance partners.