In Maharashtra, BJP and allies stuck over nine LS seats: Which ones & why

WITH FIVE days to go for the start of the five-phase elections in Maharashtra, Mahayuti partners BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP are struggling to arrive at a consensus on 9 of the 48 LS seats that go to polls on in the third, fourth, and fifth phases and whose nomination dates close on April 19, April 25, and May 3, respectively.

Sources said the Mahayuti partners were still undecided on Ratnagiri-sindhudurg, Satara, Aurangabad, Nashik, Thane, Palghar, Mumbai South, Mumbai North West and Mumbai North Central.

Even as CM Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena and Deputy CMS Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP and Ajit Pawar of the NCP are putting up a united front, seat-sharing talks have progressed at a snail’s pace with the number of contentious seats coming down from 15 a fortnight ago to 9 now.

Fadnavis said, “There are issues in three or four seats. We will discuss and resolve them.” Ajit and Shinde have also expressed similar views. The BJP has announced candidates for 24 seats so far and the Sena for 10 while NCP has named four candidates. Parbhani will see Mahadev Jankar of the Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP) in the fray as an NDA nominee.

“The central leadership has conveyed to us it cannot afford to antagonise alliance partners, especially when PM Modi has set an ambitious target of 370 seats for the party and over 400 for NDA,” said a senior BJP leader.

Thane

The BJP, according to those in the know, has staked a claim on the CM’S home turf Thane, saying it has a better organisational structure. The Sena is not ready to part with it because of its link to Shinde’s identity. The BJP, from the time seat-sharing negotiations began, urged Sena to choose between Thane and Kalyan, an almost unthinkable proposition for the latter as the sitting MP of Kalyan is CM’S son Shrikant Shinde.

Nashik

This is a seat where all three alliancepartners have thrown their hats in the ring. Sitting Sena MP Hemant Godse has held half a dozen meetings with shin de, urging him not to give up these at even as the NCP is keen to field Cabinet Minister Chhagan Bhujbal. “Which party gives up a seat where it has a sitting MP?” asked Se na spokespersons an jay shir sat.

Bhujbal seems to have BJP’S backing, which is keen for him to contest on its symbol. sources said BJP hopes to consolidate OBC votes by fieldingbhujb al, who has beenacriticofmarathaquotaactivistmanojjarange-patil.but,bhujbal last week clarified he would contest only on NCP symbol.

The Mumbai seats

The high-profile Mumbai South seat is another bone of contention between the BJP and the Sena. While the BJP is keen on fielding Speaker Rahul Narwekar or state minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the Sena has accused its ally of giving an undue advantage to the shivs en a(ubt) by claiming the seat. Shinde’s party argues that the BJP always left the seat for the undivided Sena when the two parties were in alliance.

In Mumbai North West, the Sena is looking for a candidate to replace sitting MP Gajanan Kirtikar, who has refused to contest elections citing ill health. His son Amol is the Sena (UBT) pick for the seat, while in Mumbai North central, thebjp is exploring its options to replace sitting MP Poonam Mahajan.

Satara

This seat is witnessing a tugof-war between the BJP and NCP, which is keen on BJP Rajya Sabha MP Udyanraje Bhosale, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s descendant, contesting on its symbol. However, Bhosale has made it clear that he will not “compromise on his party’s position”.

Ratnagiri-sindhudurg

Here, Union Minister Narayan Rane last month ruffled feathers when he “unilaterally” staked a claim on the seat. Despite not being officially announced as the BJP’S candidate, he started his campaign, thus upsetting the Sena’s Kiran Samant who was eyeing the seat. “We have started preparations here. The BJP cannot thrust its candidates on us,” he said.

Aurangabad

The Mahayuti is yet to find a replacement for Chandrakant Khaire, who sided with Uddhav Thackeray after Sena split. Khaire lost to sitting AIMIM MP Imitiaz Jaleelin2019andhasbeenfielded by Shiv Sena (UBT) from the seat.

Palghar

The Sena and BJP are at odds with the former against conceding the seat. On the other hand, thebvaofhitendrathakur,which hasgiventhegovernmentoutside support, is reportedly keen on fielding its nominee from the seat.

Express CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMS Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar are putting up a united front but seat-sharing talks have progressed at a snail’s pace.