Ajit Pawar ‘reveals’ Mahayuti’s seat sharing arrangement for Assembly polls

Mumbai: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday hinted at the possible seat-sharing arrangement within the ruling Mahayuti constituents for the upcoming Vidhan Sabha polls saying all three parties will retain seats where they have sitting MLAs.

“The Mahayuti has decided to retain winning seats of the respective parties. However, if there is a need to change seats, all three parties in Mahayuti are prepared for that. The seat-sharing agreement will be finalised soon,” said Pawar in Dindori in Nashik district, from where he kickstarted his ‘Jan Sanman Yatra.’

Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is part of the Mahayuti alliance along with the Shiv Sena and BJP.

Following the dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls, the seat-sharing arrangement among the Mahayuti parties is expected to be a major issue among its constituents. Ajit Pawar’s NCP fared badly in the polls, it contested four Lok Sabha seats, but could win the sole seat of Raigad.

The Mahayuti also won only 18 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra, with the BJP winning nine seats and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena seven.

While launching the ‘Jansanman Yatra’ in Dindori, Pawar appealed to the women to elect the Mahayuti government again in the Vidhan Sabha elections so that the implementation of various welfare and development schemes would continue unabated for the next five years.

He declared that the state government would deposit Rs 3,000 (Rs 1,500 each) for July and August into the bank accounts of eligible women beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin scheme through DBT on August 17, two days before the auspicious occasion of Rakshabandhan.

“Spend that money on yourself. The state government is spending Rs 46,000 crore annually on various welfare and development schemes. The Opposition is criticising this as an election gimmick, but I tell you, this is not temporary. But for these schemes to continue, you bless the grand alliance government again. It is Ajit Dada’s ‘wada’ (promise) that the ‘Ladki Bahin’ and other schemes will be implemented for the next five years,” he said.