Mumbai, Jan 30 (IANS): Maharashtra's ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday advised Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray to self-introspect on his party's failure to open its account in the Assembly election instead of targeting NCP and its party chief Ajit Pawar and questioning how it won 41 seats.

The NCP shot back at the MNS chief, who had raised questions about the NCP’s success at his rally in Worli earlier in the day, saying that despite the MNS contesting 128 seats in the Assembly elections, it failed to secure a single seat and secured only 1.55 per cent of votes.

The Ajit Pawar-led party said that the MNS is in a situation where its party symbol, the railway engine, is at risk.

NCP chief spokesman Anand Paranjpe said: "Instead of contemplating how the NCP managed to secure 41 seats in the MahaYuti alliance, Raj Thackeray should focus on how to save his party, retain its workers, and regain the trust of the people of Maharashtra."

"Raj Thackeray is a prominent leader in Maharashtra, but people have seen his shifting stance. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he campaigned in favour of the Congress-NCP and against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he extended support solely to ensure Modi’s re-election as Prime Minister," he said, adding: "MNS was confused regarding its role in Mahayuti. NCP may not have had the desired success in the Lok Sabha elections, but the party, under Ajit Pawar's leadership, once again reached out to the public, understood their issues, and worked to resolve them.

On the other hand, the MNS has been seen changing its stance every passing season, Paranjpe said.

"If we look at Raj Thackeray’s speeches and his support, his constant shift of stance and confusion has resulted in the people of Maharashtra never trusting him," he added.

"In 2009, MNS managed to get 13 MLAs elected. However, in subsequent Assembly elections, its representation dwindled - one MLA was elected in 2014, and one in 2019, and now, the party has no representation in the Maharashtra Assembly. This calls for serious introspection for both Raj Thackeray and his party," Paranjpe remarked sarcastically.

Raj Thackeray, at the party rally, raised many questions on the Assembly election results including the role of EVMs saying that even the elected ruling MLAs themselves are shocked over their victories. He further stated that how can this happen that his MLA (Raju Patil from Kalyan Rural) did not get a single vote from his village?

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is currently in Delhi for campaigning, downplayed Raj Thackeray’s statements saying that he would comment after he returns to Mumbai.

However, the BJP's Mumbai chief and state minister Ashish Shelar said: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public support is increasing. If you can learn anything from this, here's some friendly advice to Raj Thackeray!"