Nagpur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has responded to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s surprising praise for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), describing it as a reflection of the RSS’s pivotal role in countering the opposition’s “fake narrative” during the elections. Fadnavis made the remarks during an event held in Nagpur to honor late RSS leader Vilas Fadnavis.
Sharad Pawar’s comment, which lauded the RSS for the BJP’s victory in Maharashtra’s Assembly elections, raised eyebrows across political circles. In his response, Fadnavis said, “In politics, anything can happen.” He credited the RSS Vichar Pariwar for uniting national forces against what he termed “anarchist elements” in the state.
Fadnavis elaborated on how the RSS played a strategic role in mobilizing efforts across various sectors to combat misinformation during the Assembly elections. “The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) created a fake narrative in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, leading to overconfidence among opposition parties. However, in the Assembly elections, the RSS Vichar Pariwar united forces to dismantle this narrative, resulting in a significantly different outcome,” he explained.
Reflecting on the BJP’s setbacks in the Lok Sabha polls, Fadnavis admitted, “We underestimated the impact of the opposition’s narrative, including their claims about changing the Constitution and their so-called ‘vote jihad.’ This overconfidence cost us in the Lok Sabha elections, but the Assembly elections showed a course correction.”
