Maharashtra: Mahayuti seat-sharing deal almost final, announcement on Palghar seat awaited

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra has almost sealed the seat-sharing deal bringing clarity over 47 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. BJP will mostly likely get the remaining Palghar seat, said insiders from the saffron party and Shiv Sena.

The Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on Wednesday announced its candidates for Kalyan, Thane and Nashik, freezing its numbers at 15. After he broke away from the original Shiv Sena in June 2022, Shinde had received the support of 13 party MPs. Under the seat-sharing arrangement, BJP has so far agreed to contest in 27 seats, while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP will field its candidates in four constituencies.

Earlier, the BJP was reportedly keen on contesting the Thane seat and had opposed the renomination of Sena MP Hemant Godse from the Nashik constituency. With the Thane seat in Sena’s kitty, Shinde has announced former Thane mayor Naresh Mhaske as his party candidate from there. His son and incumbent MP Shrikant Shinde will contest from Kalyan. Mahayuti partners BJP, Sena and NCP had backed Rashtriya Samaj Paksha in Parbhani, where polling has already been done.

According to sources in Sena and BJP, the saffron party will most likely get to contest from the Palghar Lok Sabha seat. The BJP had won in the Palghar parliamentary constituency in 2014 and retained it in the bye-election after the death of its sitting MP.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP’s sitting MP Rajendra Gavit contested on the Sena’s symbol and won. According to BJP sources, the party has persuaded Shinde to hand over the Palghar seat to the saffron party. A leader close to Shinde also said the CM has no problem letting the BJP contest from Palghar, which it had represented earlier.

Except for Palghar, the BJP-led alliance has announced its candidates for all other seats in the state. Friday is the last date to file the nomination for Palghar and other Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai.

The sitting MPs from South Mumbai and Thane had remained with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), and the BJP was keen on contesting both seats. However, Shinde managed to nominate Sena candidates for these seats, said a party leader.

From the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Shiv Sena (UBT) is contesting in 21 seats, the Congress on 17 and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) on 10 seats. Elections to the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state have been scheduled in five phases of the general elections between April 19 and May 20. Votes will be counted on June 4.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow