‘400 paar raised fear of ’gadbad’ in Constitution, reservation’, says Eknath Shinde after Lok Sabha loss

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said the' 400 paar’ pitch in the Lok Sabha elections prompted people's apprehensions about changing the Indian Constitution and removing reservations. The BJP had aimed to secure over 400 seats in total, including the seats won by its allies in the NDA coalition.

During a meeting of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) in Mumbai, Shinde said, “We suffered losses at some places because of the false narrative (by the opposition). We also bore the brunt in Maharashtra."

“Due to the 400 paar slogan, people thought that there may be some “gadbad” (hanky-panky) in future on issues like changing the Constitution and removing reservations,” he said as quoted by PTI. 

In Maharashtra, the BJP's tally dropped to just nine seats from the 23 it won in 2019. Shiv Sena, under Eknath Shinde's leadership, secured seven seats, while Ajit Pawar's NCP managed to win only one seat. This brought the NDA's total down to 17 out of the state's 48 seats. In contrast, the Sena-BJP alliance had secured 43 seats in 2014.

Following the election results, Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis requested the party's senior leadership to release him from his responsibilities, citing accountability for the electoral setback.

During the poll campaigns, the Congress alleged that the BJP's real intent behind asking for 400 plus seats was to change the Constitution and end reservation. 

Several BJP leaders, including party MP Anantkumar Hegde, have publicly advocated for a "revisiting" of the Constitution, asserting that the BJP must secure 400 seats out of the 543 in the Lok Sabha to accomplish this goal. However, the BJP leadership has distanced itself from Hegde's comments.

However, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured only 292 seats, including BJP's 240 seats, in the Lok Sabha elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power for the third term.