NEW DELHI: BJP, allied with Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra, is at odds with them over seat-sharing for Assembly elections. Shiv Sena is keen on contesting 126 seats, Ajit Pawar demands 80 seats while BJP vies for 150 seats.
Tensions are rising within the Mahayuti alliance over seat-sharing negotiations in Maharashtra, where the Bharatiya Janata Party is allied with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. According to sources, Shiv Sena is aiming to contest between 100 to 126 of the 288 seats. In contrast, Ajit Pawar-led NCP is prepared to compete for 80 seats, while BJP itself plans to vie for 150 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Sources said that Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, is keen to contest 126 of the 288 seats in the upcoming Assembly polls, with a minimum threshold of 100 seats. The party recently held a high-level meeting at the Chief Minister’s official residence to strategise and select candidates for the elections. Shiv Sena leader Hemant Godse stated, “Our performance in the Lok Sabha elections was 45%. This time, it will be 90%. We have appointed observers and in-charges for all 126 seats.”
Shiv Sena’s ‘Mission 100’ is expected to create tensions within the Mahayuti alliance, given that the BJP plans to contest 150 seats. Recently, Union ministers Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw held a meeting with Maharashtra BJP leaders, including Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule. The meeting was focused on reviewing the party’s preparations for the Assembly elections.
However, Pawar recently demanded 80 to 90 seats for the NCP during a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah. He urged Shah to finalise the seat distribution promptly and avoid the last-minute delays experienced during the Lok Sabha elections.
Sources indicated that Pawar was firm on contesting the 54 seats that the NCP secured in the 2019 Assembly elections. In addition to these, he aims to contest 20 seats in western Maharashtra, Marathwada, and Northern Maharashtra (Khandesh) against the Congress. The Deputy Chief Minister is also interested in competing for 4–5 seats in Mumbai, which are largely occupied by the minority community, in opposition to the Congress.
Aditya Rathi, a political analyst with a close eye on Maharashtra politics, said that the Shinde-led Shiv Sena is resolute in contesting 100 seats, while the BJP aims for 150 seats and the NCP is demanding 80 seats. This dynamic makes the situation intriguing, and it will be interesting to see how the three major partners in the Mahayuti alliance negotiate and accommodate each other for the 288 Assembly seats.