Yet again, the Shiv Sena has failed to make its mark beyond Maharashtra. The saffron party had fielded 42 candidates in the Gujarat elections, and most of them have lost their deposits.
The party hoped to spoil the BJP's chances in the seats where Maharashtrians had a sizeable share in votes. However, its efforts have come to naught as its candidates were humbled and lost their deposits. Its strategy to contest elections outside Maharashtra is also part of the Shiv Sena's plan to take the party's footprint beyond the state.
Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar commented that the Shiv Sena will now have to invent EVMs that will help the party in not losing deposits. Reacting to the Sena's praise of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, Shelar said that it was similar to celebrating the birth of a child in somebody else's house.
All of its candidates together fetched just over 33,000 votes for the saffron party, which has its core base in Maharashtra. According to the details available, only 11 Shiv Sena candidates could cross the 1,000 vote mark. Samrat Patil, who contested in Limbayat constituency, polled the maximum number of votes among all Sena candidates. He got 4,075 votes. The seat was won by Sangeeta Patil, another Maharashtrian, who contested on a BJP ticket. She got over 93,000 votes.
Shiv Sena corporator Rajul Patel, who was coordinating the party's effort in Gujarat, told THE WEEK that the BJP had won after manipulating EVMs. "One of our candidates got just two votes in a booth where his family of 16 members live. I am sure his entire family and friends voted for him," she claimed. "We are planning to raise the issue. I plan to visit Gujarat and talk to candidates who suffered. I will inform you (media) when we make a complaint."
The Shiv Sena first tested the electoral waters in Gujarat in 1998 when it contested five seats. This time around, the party has got just about 0.5 percent vote share, which is hardly an increase since 1998. The Shiv Sena candidates who polled least number of votes include Yogeshkumar Patil and Prashant Lokare. Patil, who contested from Matar constituency in Kheda district, got just 203 votes while Lokare, who fought in Surat West (Surat district) constituency, got 208 votes.
