As the assembly elections are approaching, political activities have intensified in Maharashtra. The big leaders of the ruling Mahayuti alliance have also become fully active. In this sequence, many top leaders including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, both Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar held a meeting in Nagpur. In this marathon meeting, seat sharing was discussed in view of the upcoming assembly elections. The meeting started at around 8 pm on Saturday evening at the Chief Minister’s official residence in Ramgiri, Nagpur. After this, it continued till 1.30 am late night. According to those who are aware of the matter, after intense brainstorming, the basic formula for seat sharing among the three ruling parties has been prepared.
BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said on Sunday that talks on seat sharing will continue for the next ten days. He said that we have decided that seats will be distributed on the basis of the winning chances of the candidates. At the same time, an insider said on the condition of anonymity that the Bharatiya Janata Party can contest 160 seats out of 288 seats in the assembly. At the same time, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde can get 60 to 70 seats. Apart from this, NCP has chances of getting 50 seats. However, Ajit Pawar has claimed 60 seats.
Apart from this, some seats can be given to smaller allies, such as Bacchu Kadu’s Prahar Janshakti Party. According to sources, the seat sharing formula can be finalized after two-three rounds of talks between the allies of the Mahayuti alliance. It is worth noting that during a rally in Nagpur on Saturday, Ajit Pawar had expressed his intention to contest on 60 seats. During his speech, he said that we had won 54 seats in the 2019 assembly elections. This time we should get 60 seats.
However, Chief Minister Shinde and both Deputy CMs agree that they will not bargain too much for seats. Instead, they will unite and focus on winning the next election. According to sources, the three top leaders understand that if their unity breaks, the opposition will benefit. They do not want to give any weapon to the opposition and want to form the government together. Instructions have also been issued to BJP workers to show their unity. They have been told not to make any such comment that hurts the alliance partners. State President Bawankule said that strict action will be taken against those who violate this order.