"We got higher numbers than expected...": Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis on Assembly elections results

New Delhi [India], December 12 : Reacting to the Mahayuti's massive victory in the Maharashtra elections, state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that they had got higher numbers than they expected. Speaking at the India Economic Conclave hosted by Times Network. Fadnavis said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slogan 'Ek hai toh safe hai' worked as a "magic" in the state.
"I knew that they (Mahayuti) were going to win the elections but if we are expecting that I will say I knew that we (BJP) are going to win the 132 seats but this is wrong he did not know that we are going to win huge number of seats. We got higher numbers than we expected" Fadnavis said on winning 132 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly polls.
He further said in the Lok Sabha elections the Yuti alliance was defeated by the fourth party which was a 'fake narrative' spread by the Opposition.
"There are two things that are important, we have consistently performed well in Maharashtra but somehow in Lok Sabha elections performance was not that good, so first we analysed the Lok Sabha elections results and found that except these three parties (NCP-SCP, Shiv Sena UBT, Congress) that fourth party behind our loss was fake narrative. We could not compete the way we should have. We worked on that in these elections. We brought good government schemes," he added.
When asked about the reason behind Mahayuti's victory in the Maharashtra polls, Fadnavis said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slogan 'Ek hai toh safe hai.'
"In the background of this when PM Modi gave the slogan of 'Ek Hai Toh Safe hai', I believe this slogan did magic in Maharashtra. People responded on 'Ek Hai Toh Safe hai' and voted in huge numbers and we won the assembly polls," he added.
During the election campaign, PM Modi in November in Maharashtra said that 'Ek hain toh safe hain' which Fadnavis declared has become the nation's 'maha-mantra'.
"This mantra has taught a lesson to those who propagate division. It has punished them. Tribals, OBCs, Dalits, and every section of society have rallied behind the BJP-NDA. This is a strong rebuttal to the Congress and INDI alliance's divisive agenda," he added.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that the cabinet expansion of the state government will take place on December 14. Fadnavis said that the formula for cabinet expansion is already decided and soon the people will get to know.
On December 5, Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra while Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar took oath as Deputy Chief Ministers.
The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats. The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party also made notable gains, with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.