MP polls would've been different had Cong contested with INDIA allies: Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that the outcome of the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections would have been different had the Congress shared some seats with constituents of the INDIA bloc.

He also said the grand old party should revisit its outlook towards allies recalling that it was Kamal Nath who had opposed sharing of seats with Samajwadi Party during elections.

Raut, however, added that the election results would not cause any rift among the members of the INDIA alliance.

It is my clear opinion that the Madhya Pradesh elections should have been contested as INDIA alliance. Had some seats been shared with the alliance parties, such as Akhilesh's party, (Samajwadi Party), the Congress would have fared far better. His (Akhilesh's) party has good support in some areas, including some 10-12 seats known as the strongholds of the party. It was Kamal Nath who opposed sharing of seats with him (Akhilesh), he told reporters.

Raut said the poll outcome has a lesson to learn that the INDIA alliance should contest future polls together.

"Teamwork was needed. State parties cannot be ignored any longer. One cannot do politics by ignoring local parties, the Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson added.

He demanded that the Congress rethink its strategy and outlook towards the allies.

"The next meeting of the INDIA bloc is scheduled on December 6 in New Delhi. Uddhav Thackeray will attend it, Raut said.

The Rajya Sabha member sarcastically said that besides PM Modi and BJP, he also wants to congratulate Central probe agencies which conducted raids on opposition parties in the states where elections were held.

"The resources were stuck or seized which can be termed as the part of the election management. The BJP always contest elections like it is at war with the opposition, he added.

Raut rejected the charge that Rahul Gandhi's panauti remark might have hurt the outcome of the elections in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

If that was the case, why did the remark did not backfire in Telangana? After Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh has the strong Hindutva activists for a long time. It has a good connection with Nagpur, he said.

He said Shivraj Singh Chauhan's public image also played a vital role in the poll outcome.