"I did not expect": Congress' TS Singh Deo on MVA's rout in Maharashtra assembly polls

New Delhi [India], November 23 : Congress leader TS Singh Deo on Saturday said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi lost the Maharashtra Assembly polls by an "unexpected margin".
The ruling Mahayuti alliance is leading in over 233 seats while opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is leading in just 48 seats out of 288 assemby seats in Maharashtra.
He added that the Congress will analyse how the party won in Jharkhand while facing a defeat in Maharashtra.
"The Congress alliance has faced defeat in the Maharashtra assembly elections by an unexpected margin... Something happened in Maharashtra that I did not expect... We will introspect on how we won in one state and lost in the other," Deo told ANI.
Deo said that the BJP was always ahead in terms of resources.
"We will learn a lesson from the Maharashtra elections. BJP is always ahead in terms of resources... We did not expect such a big margin in the Maharashtra assembly elections," he said.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance won the Maharashtra assembly polls and is poised for a landslide mandate with the JMM-led alliance slated to return to power in Jharkhand, with the ruling parties also performing well in the bypolls to 48 seats and two Lok Sabha seats across 15 seats.
In Maharashtra, the BJP led the Mahayuti alliance to a smashing victory carrying its allies - Shiv Sena and NCP - with its momentum.
While the BJP has won or is ahead in 133 seats, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has won or is ahead in 56 seats and NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is poised to win 41 seats. The state has 288 assembly seats.
The constituents of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a rude jolt with Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray poised to win 20 seats, Congress 16 and Shiv Sena(SP) led by Sharad Pawar only 10 seats.
The BJP saw a fabulous strike rate with the party poised to win 133 of 148 seats it contested in Maharashtra. Party's allies Shiv Sena and NCP also have a very good strike rate.
This was the first assembly polls after the split in the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the verdict in Maharashtra is victory of "development" and thanked people for their support.
"Development wins! Good governance wins! United we will soar even higher! Heartfelt gratitude to my sisters and brothers of Maharashtra, especially the youth and women of the state, for a historic mandate to the NDA. This affection and warmth is unparalleled. I assure the people that our Alliance will keep working for Maharashtra's progress," he said in a post on X.
"NDA's pro-people efforts resonate all over! I thank people across various states for blessing NDA candidates in the various by-polls held. We will leave no stone unturned in fulfilling their dreams and aspirations. I am proud of every NDA Karyakarta for their efforts on the ground. They worked hard, went among people and elaborated on our good governance agenda," he added.
In Jharkhand, the ruling JMM led the ruling coalition to a convincing victory. The JMM has won or is leading on 34 seats. Its allies are poised to win 22 more seats - Congress 16, RJD on 4 and CPI(ML) two. BJP is ahead or has won 21 seats. Polling was held for 81 seats in Jharkhand. This is the first time since the creation of the state that an alliance has won polls after five years in power.