In a major development in the seat-sharing talks between the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ in Maharashtra, Union Home Minister Amit Shah advised chief minister Eknath Shinde to ‘change some Shiv Sena candidates’ for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In the 2 hour-long meeting, which was held at Shah’s residence late on Friday, the advise to change the picks came after senior BJP leaders’ alleged skepticism over some candidates.
Meanwhile, it was suggested that some changes within the National Congress Party (NCP) candidates are also possible. NCP leader Ajit Pawar batted for an increased number of seats for hi party at the meeting.
It is likely that the NCP will get three to four seats, while Shinde’s Sena might contest on 10 to 12 seats.
Though no seat-sharing formula has been finalised yet, the BJP has offered five seats to Ajit Pawar’s NCP and 10 to 12 seats to the Shinde faction.
However, both the camps are pressing for more seats. Ajit Pawar has sought nine seats, as per the promise made to him when he joined hands with the BJP.
Another round of seat-sharing talks is likely to happen within two days for the Mahayuti to finalise the formula.
With the announcement of Lok Sabha elections just days away, political parties in Maharashtra are brainstorming over seat-sharing.
Sources told News18 that the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s Prakash Ambedkar has given a list of 27 seats to state’s opposition group, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), adding that he is not ready to tell how much he can compromise.
He reportedly demanded seats where either MVA candidate had won for finished second in the previous general elections.
MVA’s top brass, the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar-led NCP, asked Ambedkar to inform about the seats on which he is confident of winning.
With inputs from News18