"Misinformation spread against us...": NCP state president Sunil Tatkare on Lok Sabha election results

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 6 : Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (Ajit Pawar faction) state president Sunil Tatkare on Thursday blamed "misinformation spread against" them that led to their debacle in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.
"There was much misinformation spread against us and we had to bear the brunt of the same in elections," said Tatkare in a key meeting of the NCP.
A key meeting of the NCP leaders was held today at Pawar's residence to take stock of the Lok Sabha election results and the 'Mahayuti' alliance performance in Maharashtra LS polls.
Ajit Pawar's party contested four Lok Sabha seats in the state and bagged only one - Raigad. The ruling Mahayuti, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the NCP headed by Ajit Pawar, won 17 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
"In our core group meeting today we discussed our poor performance in the Lok Sabha and deliberated on how it can be improved before the state assembly polls", Tatkare said while speaking to reporters in Mumbai.
Tatkare further asserted that the MLAs of the NCP are "together".
"All our MLAs are together and they have full faith in Ajit Dada's leadership. We didn't discuss state cabinet expansion in Maharashtra as that is concerned with the Chief Minister and both Deputies. They will discuss it themselves and decide on that", said the NCP leader.
"We will listen to all our MLAs and try to address their issues positively. We analysed the LS poll outcomes in Maharashtra. We will listen to the views of all our MLAs and leaders", he added.
The NCP leader also spoke about the meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) scheduled for tomorrow here in the national capital.
"We will be present at the NDA meeting", Sunil Tatkare said.
Speaking on NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Rohit Pawar's claim that some of the NCP MLAs are eager to jump ship to the Sharad Pawar camp, Tatkare said, "All our MLAs are intact and together under the Ajit Dada's leadership".
As per the Election Commission of India, the BJP bagged nine seats this time against 23 in the 2019 LS polls; the Shiv Sena secured seven seats while the NCP managed to win one seat in Maharashtra.
The 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' (MVA) alliance, on the other hand, bagged 30 seats with the Congress being 13, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) being eight, and the Shiv Sena (UBT) being nine.
Earlier on Wednesday, Narendra Modi along with top brass of the Bharatiya Janata Party met leaders from the National Democratic Alliance on Wednesday in the first meeting after the alliance secured a majority in the Lok Sabha elections.
The NDA leaders have reposed faith in Modi and chose him as the leader of the alliance, paving the way for him to become the PM for the third straight time.
As per the results announced by the Election Commission of India on Tuesday, the BJP won 240 seats and the Congress 99 seats. BJP had won 303 seats in the 2019 general elections and 282 seats in the 2014 general elections.
After the BJP failed to secure a majority in the Lok Sabha polls, it will have to count on its allies to form the government.