New Delhi: The ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra appears to have reached a seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming assembly elections after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his two deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar met Amit Shah in Delhi on Friday evening.
The meeting of the top leaders of the gathered with BJP strategist Amit Shah as the seat-sharing discussions among the ruling parties reached a critical stage.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are aiming to retain power in the upcoming state Assembly elections on November 20.
Mahayuti alliance seat-sharing formula
Sources said after the meeting with Shah, the alliance has almost finalised the seat-sharing deal with the BJP getting the major chunk out of the total 288.
The BJP will contest 156 seats while the Shinde’s Sena has gotten 78 and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction will field candidates on 54 seats.
According to sources, the BJP will allocate some of the seats from its quota to smaller parties, and in cases where a party lacks a strong candidate, there may be a plus-minus adjustment of up to five seats. Disputes regarding certain seats will be resolved at the state level following Amit Shah’s directives.
Further, a decision has been made to swap some seats between the BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena, particularly where the sitting MLAs are facing anti-incumbency sentiment. A joint statement from the Mahayuti coalition regarding seat-sharing could be issued today. Amit Shah has urged all parties to immediately engage in campaigning for the polls.
The assembly election in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase on November 20 and the counting of votes will take place on November 23.
