Real power of democracy now realised by those who murdered it: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said those who murdered democracy after the 2019 state assembly elections have now realised the real power of democracy. His remark came a day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) recognised the faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and also allotted the party's poll symbol 'wall clock' to his group. The decision came as a setback to party founder Sharad Pawar. "The Election Commission's decision is a victory of democracy and majority, especially in view of what happened after the 2019 assembly elections in Maharashtra. People's mandate was rejected and democracy was murdered at that time," Fadnavis said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the undivided Shiv Sena had contested the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections together. But after the results, the Sena snapped ties with the BJP and joined hands with the NCP and the Congress to form Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government headed by Uddhav Thackeray.

"Those who murdered democracy in 2019 have now realised what the real power of democracy is," Fadnavis said. "The Election Commission not only took into the consideration the majority's opinion in the NCP, but it also went through the Constitution of the party as well as other mandatory procedures such as holding internal elections at fixed intervals, among others," the former chief minister added.