A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the election strategy of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, senior leaders from the three parties in the alliance held multiple meetings on Thursday to discuss contentious seats. While a consensus has been reached on over 195 seats, a decision is pending on around 90 constituencies, with state leaders instructed to finalize the matter within a week.
The ruling coalition, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has primarily agreed on seat-sharing arrangements for most of the seats currently held by their sitting MLAs. However, final announcements are expected only after the top leadership of the three parties gives their approval.
According to alliance insiders, 21 seats are being contested between the NCP and the BJP, while 19 constituencies have both Shiv Sena and NCP aspirants vying for nominations. ?The coordination committee, consisting of representatives from all three parties, met in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to discuss Shah?s directives. The focus was on contesting the elections as a unified front, avoiding the internal conflicts seen during the Lok Sabha elections, and enhancing the strike rate rather than merely securing a larger share of seats,? a senior BJP leader disclosed.
Ahead of the meeting, Bhupendra Yadav, the BJP?s in-charge for Maharashtra, had a series of consultations with party leaders, reviewing the status and upcoming plans in various constituencies. Later, CM Shinde and his two deputies convened late into the evening to further discuss the strategy.
The ruling parties plan to release their initial lists of candidates during Navratri, with the BJP expected to announce over 40 candidates in its first phase. However, both Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde are facing potential internal dissent. Several MLAs aligned with Ajit Pawar have approached the Sharad Pawar-led faction, and Shinde?s Sena also has multiple claimants for certain seats, delaying the finalization of candidates in these areas.
The alliance has also agreed to allocate seats to independents and smaller allies. For example, the BJP will allocate seats to parties like the Jansurajya Paksha, RPI (A), and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha to ensure their support. Shah has also urged the coalition to convince independents supporting the government to contest under the alliance?s symbols to project unity.
The seat-sharing discussions come as the coalition prepares to counter the opposition in a high-stakes election. Amit Shah, who conducted meetings across four regions earlier this week, is scheduled to review the progress of the alliance's campaign strategy in a meeting with Mumbai BJP leaders next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar's NCP has expressed interest in four Mumbai seats, while the remaining city constituencies are likely to be evenly split between the BJP and Shiv Sena. This seat-sharing agreement is seen as a crucial step in ensuring a unified strategy for the upcoming polls, aimed at consolidating the alliance's position in Maharashtra.
This strategic coordination reflects the ruling alliance's efforts to present a consolidated front ahead of the assembly elections, minimizing internal disputes and maximizing their electoral performance.
