BJP not confident of winning more than 200 LS seats, alleges Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party was running a "political brothel" in Maharashtra and was solely responsible for polluting the state's culture.

In his column 'Rokthok' in the Uddhav Thackeray-led outfit's mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Rajya Sabha MP said the BJP was not confident of winning more than 200 Lok Saha seats and cited the induction of leaders like Ashok Chavan, a former Congress chief minister.

"Maharashtra was once famed for the staunch support for progressive and modern thoughts in politics. BJP is solely responsible for changing the image of the state, which is now known for political switch overs, and decline in its culture,"Raut alleged.

"BJP leaders like Devendra Fadnavis and (former MP) Kirit Somaiya were once harsh critics of Chavan. They levelled serious allegations against him. But now Fadnavis was present when Chavan joined the BJP. Fadnavis had once called Chavan a 'dealer'. Now, the state's deputy chief minister has to deal with him," Raut said.

Chavan, who was once accused by the party of alleged involvement in the Adarsh housing scam, joined the BJP last week and was nominated by the party to the Rajya Sabha.

"The BJP is running a political brothel in the state now. And its end has begun now. Chhagan Bhujbal faced allegations of corruption in Maharashtra Sadan construction, Ajit Pawar was accused of involvement in irrigation and Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scams, while Ashok Chavan faced allegations in the Adarsh Society scam," he said in the column.

Fadnavis, when he was in opposition, used to talk about putting them in jail but now they are his party colleagues, Raut pointed out.

Either the BJP's allegations were fake or their corruption has been covered up now that they have joined the ruling party, he claimed.

"History will remember the BJP as a shameless and immoral institution of the country," he said.

The BJP is not confident of winning even 200 seats in the Lok Sabha polls on the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi so is inducting corrupt faces across the country, he claimed in his column.

Quoting an unnamed survey for Lok Sabha elections, Raut claimed, "RSS insiders suggest the BJP will win only 190 Lok Sabha seats. It means there will be huge changes in the political landscape post-2024 LS elections."

The BJP is now so desperate it has to induct Chavan, who allegedly insulted the Kargil War martyrs as the Adarsh tower was made for their kin, he said.

Just for Nanded Lok Sabha seat the BJP has inducted him, he alleged.