Maharashtra minister and Sillod MLA Abdul Sattar on Thursday explained the defeat of Union minister Raosaheb Danve from Jalna Lok Sabha seat by claiming some Shiv Sena supporters were disgruntled for not getting the backing of the BJP during the last Assembly polls.
Danve, who was BJP MP from Jalgaon since 1999, was defeated by the Congress' Kalyan Kale in the recent Lok Sabha polls, results of which were announced on June 4.
Speaking to Marathi news channel in Sillod, Sattar said, "We didn't get the same help in the Assembly polls (from ally BJP). Therefore, some of my karyakartas were disgruntled. So they did not work for Danve. During a meeting, we had told Danve about not getting BJP votes during Assembly polls." Sattar said he had spoken about this disgruntlement to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as well and had also directed his supporters to help Danve.
I tried to help Danve: Sattar
"I tried to help Danve wholeheartedly but the difference (in vote numbers) is not only in Sillod (which is Sattar's bastion) but also in Bhokardan, where the MLA is his son. There he has lost 1.5 lakh votes. Danve did not have contact with people. It is natural to some extent when one is Union minister. But he could not keep public contact while performing party duties," Sattar claimed.
The Maharashtra minister also said people were also opposed the MIDC plan in Jalna and a ₹3600 crore railway project for the region could not take off, which affected Danve's prospects.
