Seat-sharing talks in Maharashtra assume prominence as parties get ready for upcoming Assembly polls

Seat-sharing talks in Maharashtra assume prominence as parties get ready for upcoming Assembly polls

MUMBAI: A day after Shiv Sena MP and party's chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut made a public statement claiming that the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra will be only from the Shiv Sena, the leader of opposition in Maharashtra assembly and one of the senior most MLAs of BJP Eknath Khadase said on Sunday that the chief minister of the saffron alliance will be decided on the basis of who (Shiv Sena or BJP) gets more seats in the next assembly. The tussle between two senior leaders of the saffron alliance has exposed the differences between them over key issues.

After the war of words between two of the senior-most leaders from both sides of the Sena-BJP alliance exposed the differences between them, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray stepped in on Sunday evening to say that since the Sena-BJP alliance is over 25 years old, it will not break and the two saffron alliance partners will go into elections together. BJP leader Amit Shah will arrive in Mumbai on Wednesday meet top leaders of the Sena to resolve the issue, said a Sena leader.

"Sena and BJP have been together for a long time and we have earlier shared power at the Centre and in the state, but it is obvious that the next chief minister of Maharashtra will be only from the Shiv Sena" Sanjay Raut said on Sunday. Earlier, Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, of which Raut is the Editor, had taken a hardline in its editorial claiming that there will be no compromise in the seat-sharing talks and the Sena would not concede any more seats to the BJP.

The BJP too took a tough stand on Sunday by saying that the CM's position will be decided on the basis of who wins more MLAs in the new assembly. "It's a formula that is accepted all over. In any alliance, it is a thumb rule that the party that wins more seats will get the chief minister's position. Nobody should take anything for granted," said BJP's Eknath Khadase. While senior alliance leaders were making statements, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray stepped in to calm down the situation on Sunday. "This is an alliance which has lasted for 25 years. Perhaps there is no other political alliance in the country which is so old. We have been together through thick and thin so we will contest these polls as partners, Uddhav said.

Five Battlegrounds
Vidarbha
With 60 assembly seats, the cotton producing region infamous for farmers suicides is crucial to the Congress's political fortunes. Of the 10 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP won in six and the Sena in four. BJP backs the agitations for a separate state, even if ally Sena is against it.

Western Maharashtra
This sugar bowl and pocket borough of the NCP is the reason why the party saved some face in the recent Lok Sabha polls, winning four of the seven candidates fielded. However the victory came as a wakeup call: Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule won with a thin margin of 67.000 votes. NCP's use of sugar co operatives to ensure its hold over voters is no longer working with many of the NCP leaders jumping ship and joining the BJP. Pawar's arch rival and Swabhimaani Shetkari Sanghatana(SSS) chief Raju Shetti, who is an important reason why NCP influence is on the wane across the region with 78 assembly seats.

PUBLIC SUPPORT: Too close to call in Western Maharashtra. Only if the Sena-BJP manages to placate the SSS and field proper candidates would the saffron combine be able to effectively challenge Pawar's fiefdom.

Marathwada
This land has provided most Congress chief ministers, helping the party consolidate its hold in the region. Following the death of Vilasrao Deshmukh and Adarsh scam-tained Ashok Chavan losing CM post, the party has lost its clout in the region. During Lok Sabha polls, the Congress managed to win only two seats, Nanded and Hingoli.

PUBLIC SUPPORT: More tilted towards the Sena-BJP due to Modi wave and Munde's death

North Maharashtra
BJP's fortunes have been on the upswing in North Maharashtra for a number of years, but this year it managed to create a huge upset when party candidate Heena Gavit defeated nine time Congress MP Manikrao Gavit from Nandurbar.

PUBLIC SUPPORT: BJP dominates

src:economictimes

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