Tussle in Mahayuti over Nashik LS seat
MUMBAI: With the tug of war over seat-sharing within the ruling alliance ‘Mahayuti’ continues, the Nashik Lok Sabha has become a bone of contention between the three ruling parties. Though Ajit Pawar-led NCP got Parbhani and Osmanabad in the seat-sharing pact but is still struggling to get Satara or Nashik in its exchange, insiders said.
Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare announced that the Parbhani constituency would be given to Mahadev Jankar-led Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) as an alliance partner. Jankar, a popular Dhangar leader, would be contesting from the seat. NCP insiders said that they have also got Osmanabad in the sharing of seats, but the focal point of the dispute is currently the Nashik Lok Sabha constituency. According to the insiders, the BJP wants a Satara seat for Udayanraje Bhosale, a direct descendant of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. NCP is not ready to concede the seat as they had won it in 2019 when NCP was united. The party also believes that they have a strong candidate and significant hold which will help them win Satara’s seat. “After a lot of deliberations, NCP agreed to concede the seat but on the condition that they want the Nashik seat in exchange. The party also has a strong candidate in Nashik, which is the party’s heavyweight and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal. Now BJP is pushing chief minister Eknath Shinde to leave the seat for NCP, but the latter has put his foot down,” revealed an insider. Nashik comes in the Shiv Sena quota as Hemant Godse, sitting MP from Nashik, shifted his loyalty to CM Shinde during the split in Shiv Sena in June 2022.