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.
While the BJP has officially announced candidates for 24 seats so far, the Sena has announced 10.
The Mumbai seatsThe high-profile Mumbai South seat is another bone of contention between the BJP and the Sena.
Shinde’s party argues that the BJP always left the seat for the undivided Sena when the two parties were in alliance.
PalgharIn Palghar, the Sena and BJP are at odds with the former against conceding the seat.
With five days to go for the start of the five-phase elections in Maharashtra, Mahayuti partners BJP, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are struggling to arrive at a consensus on nine of the 48 Lok Sabha 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. While Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg and Satara vote in phase three of the elections on May 7, Aurangabad goes to polls in the fourth phase on May 13. The rest will vote in the fifth phase on May 20.
Even as Chief Minister 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 nine now.
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Fadnavis admitted some differences over seat-sharing remain. “There are issues in three or four seats. We will discuss and resolve them,” he said. Ajit and Shinde have also expressed similar views. The ruling coalition has twice missed the deadline set by Ajit to release its full list of candidates. While the BJP has officially announced candidates for 24 seats so far, the Sena has announced 10. The NCP has announced four candidates. Parbhani will see Mahadev Jankar of the Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP) in the fray as an NDA nominee.
PM Narendra Modi with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, his Deputy Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and NCP’s Praful Patel at Ramtek in Nagpur district, Wednesday. (PTI) PM Narendra Modi with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, his Deputy Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and NCP’s Praful Patel at Ramtek in Nagpur district, Wednesday. (PTI)
The stalled talks also seem to have dealt a blow to the BJP’s ambitions of being the “big brother” in the alliance and contesting the lion’s share — at least, 32 — of the seats “The central leadership has conveyed to us that 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 the NDA,” said a senior BJP leader.
In a bid to reassure workers, Shinde and Fadnavis have not only shared the stage at rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in eastern Vidarbha, where polling for five seats will be held in the first phase on April 19 but are also seen urging party workers to get over their differences to achieve the “larger goal” of a third term for the NDA.
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 the constituency because of its link to Shinde’s identity. Sena workers in the city of Kalyan in Thane district, where they have had an uneasy relationship with the BJP, are said to be disappointed over the limbo. The BJP, from the time seat-sharing negotiations began, has urged the 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.
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PM Modi with CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis during a public meeting in Chandrapur Monday. (ANI) PM Modi with CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis during a public meeting in Chandrapur Monday. (ANI)
Nashik
This is a seat where all three alliance partners have thrown their hats in the ring. Sitting Sena MP Hemant Godse has held half a dozen meetings with Shinde, urging him not to give up the constituency even as the NCP is keen to field its senior leader and Cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal. “Which party gives up a seat where it has a sitting MP?” asked Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat.
Bhujbal seems to have the backing of the BJP, which is keen for him to contest on its symbol. Sources said the BJP hopes to consolidate OBC votes by fielding Bhujbal, who has been a fierce critic of Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil. But, Bhujbal last week clarified he would contest only on the 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 Shiv Sena (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.
The alliance has yet to declare candidates for two more seats in the Mumbai region. 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, the BJP is exploring its options to replace sitting MP Poonam Mahajan.
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Satara
This seat is witnessing a tug-of-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 has yet to find a replacement for Chandrakant Khaire, who sided with Uddhav Thackeray after the Sena split. Khaire lost to sitting AIMIM MP Imitiaz Jaleel in 2019 and has been fielded by the Shiv Sena (UBT) from the seat. The alliance is undecided over the seat.
Palghar
In Palghar, the Sena and BJP are at odds with the former against conceding the seat. On the other hand, the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) of Hitendra Thakur, which has given outside support to the state government, is also reportedly keen on fielding its nominee from the seat.
