99% of seat-sharing process with Sena, BJP complete: Ajit Pawar
NCP chief drops hint on wife Sunetra contesting against cousin Supriya Sule in Baramati, says Mahayuti will declare all candidates by Thursday
Stating that “99%” of the seatsharing talks between the three ruling Mahayuti partners (Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena, the BJP and the splinter Nationalist Congress Party faction) had been completed, NCP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said the ruling coalition will declare their remaining candidates on Thursday.
“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 press conference addressed by CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and myself,” he said.
Speaking in Pune on Tuesday after holding a meeting of MLAs belonging to his NCP faction, Mr. Pawar declared the name of sitting MP Sunil Tatkare as the Mahayuti’s candidate for the Raigad Lok Sabha seat.
Mr. Pawar also oversaw the entry of Shiv Sena leader Shivajirao AdhalraoPatil into his NCP fold, and announced his candidature for the Shirur Lok Sabha seat.
Baramati suspense
When asked about who will be the Mahayuti’s candidate for the keenlycontested Baramati seat, Mr. Pawar said: “Let the suspense remain for a couple of more days. You will come to know on March 28. I can say that the candidate is who you [alluding to the press] think it is.”
Mr. Pawar was referring to the reports that his wife, Sunetra Pawar, would be the likely candidate for the crucial seat in Pune district.
The BJP has already announced the names of its candidates on 23 Lok Sabha seats. However, Mr. Shinde’s Sena faction and Mr. Pawar’s NCP had, so far, not officially announced their candidates until the latter’s declaration for the Raigad and Shirur seats.
Mr. Tatkare, who is State NCP president of the Deputy CM’s splinter faction, had narrowly managed to win the Raigad seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha by defeating his nearest rival, the undivided Shiv Sena’s Anant Geete, by barely 30,000 votes.
In Shirur, a key Lok Sabha seat in western Maharashtra, Mr. Pawar lauded Mr. AdhalraoPatil’s “political management skills” while welcoming him into his party. Mr. AdhalraoPatil had, incidentally, begun his political career with the undivided NCP before moving to the undivided Shiv Sena in 2009.
“We will not let old rivalries resurface. The ultimate objective is to ensure that Narendra Modi returns as Prime Minister for a third term,” Mr. Pawar said, adding that the purpose of the original NCP party symbol of the clock, which was awarded to his faction by the Election Commission, was to “help reelect” Mr. Modi”.