Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is flanked by his deputies Devendra Fadnavis (left) and Ajit Pawar during a press conference in Mumbai on October 16, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The seat-sharing talks among constituents of the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra have almost been finalised after an almost three-hour long meeting with Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah in New Delhi till the early hours on Saturday (October 19, 2024). “Talks are still going on for over 20 seats,” sources told The Hindu.
The discussions were held between Mr. Shah, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar with the BJP slated to take the lion’s share of the pie between 155 to 160 seats. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will likely get around 80 to 85 seats and Ajit Pawar’s NCP will contest in 50-55 seats.
CM face after polls: Shinde
“BJP’s first list will be out any moment,” Mr. Fadnavis said on Saturday. “The Mahayuti seat-sharing talks were positive. They are in the final stage now. In the next two days, decision about final seat-sharing will be done. Now, the differences are not irreconcilable. There are some differences on 25 to 30 seats. They will get resolved,” Chief Minister Shinde told reporters in Delhi. When asked about the discussions on the Chief Ministerial face, he said: “We are doing team work. Mahayuti government will come back to power. We are confident. Industry, infrastructure, welfare schemes — are the backbones of our performance. People will give us the mandate. Amit Shah has told us that the State should go ahead at the same pace. Development is our agenda.”
Sources said a decision on the CM face will be taken only after the election results. “A joint decision will be taken thereafter by the BJP parliamentary board, the Shiv Sena and the NCP together,” a source told The Hindu. The Mahayuti has said previously that the current election will be fought under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Going soft on leadership
Sources in the Shiv Sena indicated that there was soft posturing about the leadership of Mr. Shinde. “Nobody will be able to talk openly about the CM candidate at this juncture. But it is true that the Mahayuti is banking on the popularity of Eknath Shinde as the Chief Minister,” a source indicated. He said that the three parties were going ahead with a seat-by-seat discussion. “While the incumbent seats will go to those parties, some surveys have shown that a few sitting MLAs are not faring well. Due to caste and social engineering factors, some things might change there. The Mahayuti has already completed discussions on 232 seats [of a total 288],” he said.
On Friday night, Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis landed in New Delhi and went straight to meet Mr. Shah thereafter. He was joined by Mr. Shinde and Mr. Pawar a little later. The meeting went on till 1 a.m.
As aspirations are being voiced out among the ruling alliance partners, a message has already been communicated to Mr. Shinde that he should adjust during the seat-sharing discussions this time, BJP sources told The Hindu. They said that it was hinted that the BJP had sacrificed a lot while forming the government with Shiv Sena and in giving the CM post to Mr. Shinde. A few days ago, BJP Maharashtra president Chandrashekhar Bawankule had advised Mr. Shinde to forgo a few things and pursue an understanding stance during the seat-sharing talks.
The Assembly election in Maharashtra will be held on November 20.
Published – October 19, 2024 11:20 pm IST
