Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Seat-sharing talks between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena under the Mahayuti banner failed to reach a conclusion for the second time, despite a meeting that lasted nearly five hours on Saturday. With leaders of both parties staking claim to several seats, the discussions ended without a decision, and the matter has now been referred to senior leadership, District Guardian Minister Sanjay Shirsat said at a press conference.
The meeting was held at the residence of BJP MP Dr Bhagwat Karad. Those present included the district’s guardian minister, Sanjay Shirsat, OBC Welfare Minister Atul Save, MP Sandipan Bhumre, MLC Sanjay Kenekar, MLA Anuradha Chavan, city president Kishor Shitole, Rajendra Janjal, Sameer Rajurkar, Vikas Jain, Rishikesh Jaiswal, Kishenchand Tanwani and other leaders.
Discussions began with a proposal to allot 47 seats to the BJP and 43 to the Shiv Sena (Shinde). While an initial understanding was reached to contest 45 seats each, disagreements persisted over about 12 seats. It was subsequently decided that the final call would be taken by the higher authorities of both parties.
The Shiv Sena (Shinde) proposed that seats won by each party in the previous election should be retained, with a 50-50 formula applied to the remaining seats. However, the BJP did not agree to the proposal.
Shirsat said a decision had been reached on about 90% of the seats, but no conclusion could be drawn for eight to 10 seats. “A letter has been sent to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule. We will accept the decision taken by them,” he said.
Save said the list of disputed seats had been forwarded to the senior leadership, and once a decision is taken, the situation would become clear.
