Women’s increased participation possible reason for Mahayuti sweep: Sharad Pawar after accepting Maharashtra mandate

Sharad Pawar admitted the results were "not on expected lines"

In his first response to his party’s underwhelming performance in the Maharashtra assembly elections, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) chief Sharad Pawar admitted the results were "not on expected lines" and pledged to analyze the outcome and reconnect with the public. Pawar acknowledged the Mahayuti’s landslide victory, attributing it partly to high female voter participation. "Women's participation in large numbers could be a reason for Mahayuti sweep in polls," he noted.

He conceded the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, of which his party is a part, should have worked harder for the elections.

Defending his decision to field Yugendra Pawar against his nephew Ajit Pawar in Baramati, Pawar said it was essential for someone to contest. However, Ajit’s faction decisively outperformed, securing 41 assembly seats, compared to the senior Pawar faction’s meager showing. Ajit’s NCP dominated western Maharashtra and other regions, while the senior Pawar’s wins were limited to western Maharashtra.

The elections saw Mahayuti clinch 230 of 288 seats, with the BJP leading at 132, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena winning 57, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP securing 41 seats. The results firmly established Mahayuti’s dominance in the state.