Mumbai, July 20 -- Infighting among the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) parties and attempts to score over one another led to the alliance's crushing defeat in last year's assembly elections that saw the ruling Mahayuti coalition return to power with a thumping majority, according to Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. In an interview to his party's mouthpiece Saamana published on Saturday, Thackeray said that the MVA's success during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections had gone to their heads, and the parties-Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)-were fighting for their own victory rather than the alliance. The interview, published two days after Thackeray's brief, closed-door meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, is likely to irk his party's allies, especially the Congress. The grand old party is anyway reconsidering its tie-up with the Shiv Sena (UBT) if Uddhav and his cousin, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, form an alliance for the upcoming civic polls. However, Thackeray also slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government in the interview, saying the country is heading towards a "one party, no election" system due to the autocratic regime in Delhi. In the first part of his interview with Samana's executive editor and party MP Sanjay Raut published on Saturday, Thackeray said that some defeats and the mistakes made in the assembly polls should be accepted with responsibility. While the "EVM scam", "bogus voters", and the Ladki Bahin welfare scheme had an impact on the state elections, the camaraderie seen between the three MVA parties during the Lok Sabha polls was absent in the assembly elections, as each party wanted to win more seats in the state, Thackeray said. "We had a tussle for seats during the Lok Sabha elections. But we gave up constituencies that we had won four or five times because 'we' (the alliance) wanted to win the elections. During the assembly elections, the back-and-forth [for seats] continued till the last day. It sent the wrong message to the voters," he said, adding that if these mistakes are repeated, there is "no point in coming back together". When asked if there was a lack of coordination between the MVA parties during the assembly polls, Thackeray said, "More than the lack of coordination, the success of the Lok Sabha polls had gone to everyone's heads. During the Lok Sabha polls, there was a sense of togetherness that 'we wanted to win'. During the assembly polls, it became all about 'me' wanting to win and selfishness, which is why we lost." Thackeray also said his MVA government failed to showcase its successes to the people before the assembly polls, such as its performance during the Covid-19 pandemic. "We could not take our performance in the government to the people in the assembly polls, as [the Mahayuti government's] populist announcements like the Ladki Bahin scheme and an increase in the monthly allowance under it were in play. There was money pouring into the polls (from other sides), there is no doubt, but we failed to take our performance in loan waivers, the Shiv Bhojan thali, minimum support price, and maintenance of law and order to the people," he said. Thackeray accused the BJP of dividing Indians into caste, race and religion to rule the country and states. "They are treading on the lines of the British, who would divide and rule. Now, the BJP gives the slogan of 'Batenge toh Katenge' and divides people in society. This poison was used in the assembly polls in Maharashtra," he said. The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief also slammed the BJP for introducing the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill in the recently concluded monsoon session of the state legislature. After the Narendra Modi government imposed an "undeclared Emergency" in the country, his party has now brought the Public Security Act at a time "when naxalism has already been wiped out by our security forces," he said. Thackeray alleged that the Modi regime is taking the country towards an autocracy-a "one party, no election" system. "They initially coined the slogan of 'Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan, Ek Pradhan' (One Flag, One Constitution, One Leader) during the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution. We liked it and supported it. Now, they are saying, 'one nation, one election' and it will be followed by 'one nation, one language'. Ultimately, they will take us to 'one party, no election,'" he said. BJP leader and former minister Sudhir Mungantiwar termed the interview as domestic match fixing between Thackeray and Raut. "The questions and answers are predetermined in such a way that Thackeray gets an opportunity to praise himself. The Thackeray brand is no longer acceptable to the people of Maharashtra," he said. Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal accepted there was a lack of coordination in MVA, but said the rigging of the voting system too has played a role. "The Devendra Fadnavis government has come to power by stealing votes and the polarisation they engineered in the assembly polls," he said....