The BJP’s tough stand has come a day after one of its spokesperson Ganesh Hake called the party’s alliance with Ajit Pawar-led NCP “unfortunate”. Hake said that neither the BJP nor the NCP is happy with the “incompatible marriage”.
State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule informed that strict directives have been issued to all BJP members, asking them to refrain from making statements that could create discord within the alliance. “Any future violation of the directive by any member will result in strict disciplinary action from the BJP,” he said.
The BJP is worried that some loose cannons in the party will further harm the Mahayuti’s already bleak prospects in the state Assembly elections, which are expected to be held in October or November this year. A source informed that the three parties — BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP — have already begun formal talks to contest the Assembly election in the alliance.
According to a source, chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies — BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar — held a meeting in Nagpur to discuss the seat sharing. “It was not the first meeting. The three leaders have met twice so far. The Nagpur meeting went on for nearly three hours,” the source said.
The three parties are said to have formed consensus on 173 out of 288 Assembly seats in Maharashtra. Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar will hold a couple of more meetings to sort out the remaining 115 seats, the source said.
Speaking about the seat sharing of the Mahayuti, Bawankule expressed confidence that it will be concluded in the next 10 days. He said that the candidates will be decided based on the chances of winning the seat.
“Our talks on seat sharing will be wrapped up in 10 days. We are focusing on ensuring that seats are allocated based on winnability. The number of seats for each party is secondary,” Bawankule said.
Meanwhile, BJP legislators from Mumbai had a closed-door meeting with RSS leaders on Sunday. The meeting at Yashwant Bhavan in Lower Parel in central Mumbai lasted over six hours. The legislators did not disclose what transpired in the meeting and maintained that it was “routine meeting”.
In the recently held Lok Sabha polls, the BJP-led Mahayuti performed poorly by winning only 17 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra. Since the Lok Sabha results, the Eknath Shinde government has announced several “welfare schemes” including direct cash transfer to women and paid apprenticeship for youth. The alliance is hoping that the schemes will turn the tide in their favour in the Assembly election.
