Mumbai: The Mahayuti alliance which consists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ajit Pawar-led NCP and CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is going through major turbulence amid ongoing seat-sharing talks. With the first phase of elections to be held in just a few weeks, the three strong political parties of Maharashtra are struggling to reach a consensus on a seat-sharing formula. Time and again, the Mahayuti partners have assured that the seat-sharing is nearing completion and the exact number of seats claimed by the allies will be shared soon.
Let's take a look at the long timeline of the seat-sharing talks on Maharashtra seats:
First Round Of Talks In Mumbai
In the initial stages, the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, led by Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar, respectively, expressed their respective preferences for a higher number of seats than what the others were willing to concede. This led to intensive negotiations, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah holding crucial meetings with leaders from all parties.
The first round of discussions took place on March 5, at around 10.15 pm. Shah held a discussion with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in the presence of BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the first 30 minutes, after which the two leaders left. The next 50 minutes saw talks between the Home Minister and Chief Minister Shinde.
'80% Issues Resolved': Deputy CM Fadnavis
This was followed by another meeting on March 8, where a delegation from Maharashtra, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis, flew to Delhi to meet with Amit Shah. The meeting was also attended by BJP president JP Nadda and former union minister and senior NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader Praful Patel.
Fadnavis, who reached Nagpur following the meeting, on March 9 described the talks as "positive" and claimed that nearly 80% of the issues were resolved, but major areas of contention remained, particularly concerning seats won by alliance parties in the previous elections.
'Discussion On Six Seats Pending': Sena MP Rahul Shewale
Multiple rounds of negotiations further continued, with discussions focusing on specific seats and the allocation of constituencies among the alliance partners in Maharashtra. Eventually, on March 18, Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale stated that the alliance had decided candidates on 42 Lok Sabha seats, with discussions on six seats still pending.
According to the updates, Shiv Sena was set to contest 13 seats, NCP six, and BJP 26 seats, with ongoing discussions regarding the potential allocation of certain seats to Raj Thackeray's MNS.
'99% Of Seat-Sharing Completed': Ajit Pawar In Pune
As the deadline for candidate declarations approached, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar while speaking in Pune on March 26, declared that 99% of the seat-sharing process had been completed, with remaining candidates set to be announced on March 28 in a joint press conference attended by senior leaders from all alliance parties.
“99% of the process on the sharing of seats is completed. The names of the remaining candidates of the Mahayuti will be declared in a joint press conference which will be addressed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and myself,” said Ajit Pawar as per a PTI report.
'Close To Finalising Seats..': Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis
In the latest update on the seat sharing talks, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday, April 1, stated that the Mahayuti allies are close to finalising their seat-sharing arrangement. He also confirmed that a decision has been taken by the ruling alliance on fielding candidates in Lok Sabha constituencies going to polls in the second phase in April.
"We are close to finalizing the seats and we will announce the arrangement soon," said the Deputy CM as per a PTI report while replying to a query on delay by Mahayuti partners in seat-sharing discussions.
