“Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna for Mayawati, Owaisi", Sanjay Raut

Mayawati & Owaisi have contributed to BJP's win, so they must be given Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna”. Mr Raut said.

“Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna for Mayawati, Owaisi", Sanjay Raut

Mumbai: Shiva Sena leader and MP, Sanjay Raut took a swipe at Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, suggested the Centre to both should be awarded a Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna for their immense contribution for the BJP’s victory in Uttar Pradesh.

 “ BJP achieved a great victory. UP was their state, still, Akhilesh Yadav's seats have increased 3 times, from 42 to over 125. Mayawati & Owaisi have contributed to BJP's win, so they must be given Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna”. Mr Raut was quoted by ANI news agency.

Refusing to give credit to BJP’s victory in four states, Mr. Raut said that despite winning in four states, BJP’s chief minister in Uttarakhand lost the election and two deputy chief ministers in Goa faced defeat and the party was outrightly rejected in Punjab, he said.

"The PM, Home Minister, Defence Minister, everyone campaigned tremendously in Punjab, then why did you lose in Punjab? UP, Uttarakhand, Goa were yours already, which is fine. But, you have lost more in Punjab as compared to Congress and Shiv Sena in UP," the Sena MP said.

“BJP has won in 4 states, we don't have anything to be upset about, we're a part of your happiness. Why did Uttarakhand CM lose? 2 Dy CMs lost in Goa. The most concerning issue in Punjab; a nationalist party like BJP has been rejected completely in Punjab”, he added.

"What success did the BJP, a national party with Modi-Shah at its face, achieve in Punjab?" the Rajya Sabha MP asked.

"It is easy to digest failure, but the BJP should learn to digest success. (Only) some people can digest success," Raut said, reacting to the BJP's performance in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur Assemby polls.

The BJP's win is the victory of its good election management." The Shiv Sena contested Assembly polls in Goa, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur and suffered a drubbing in all three states. It had deployed a battery of leaders, including Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray, for canvassing votes for party candidates.

"It is right that the Sena received less votes than NOTA because we could not manage the notes used by the BJP. Still we contested in Goa and Uttar Pradesh. Our fight will continue. Victory or defeat is not the end, it is the start. In the future, we will continue to work," the Sena leader said as quoted by NDTV.

The BJP and its allies won a total of 273 out of the 403 seats in the politically significant state.

The Akhilesh Yadav-led party won 111 seats on its own and the alliance led by it posted a victory in 125 constituencies. This was the Samajwadi Party's best performance ever.

Mayawati's party received a vote share of 12.8 per cent and managed to win just one seat. AIMIM failed to open its account and its vote share stood at 0.49 per cent.