NDA’s seat sharing in Maharashtra election has become a bone of contention for BJP

In Maharashtra, the distribution of the Governor’s quota of Legislative Council seats has been done, and a clear formula seems to be emerging from the division – but before the assembly elections, it has become a very difficult task for the BJP to deal with its alliance partners, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

There are 12 seats in the Legislative Council in Maharashtra which are nominated by the Governor. According to the news coming in now, the matter regarding the Legislative Council seats from the Governor’s quota has almost been finalised. According to the report, 6 seats from the Governor’s quota will go to the BJP, and three each will go to Shiv Sena and NCP – and it has been learnt that this announcement can be made on the first day of Navratri.

But division of votes regarding the assembly elections seems to be quite difficult. It is also becoming difficult because Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar wants an assurance from Amit Shah to implement the Bihar NDA formula after the 2020 elections – meaning, he is now eyeing the Chief Minister’s chair directly.

The situation in Maharashtra seems to be similar to that of Haryana BJP in the future – imagine what the scene could be if BJP, under pressure from alliance partners, starts cutting tickets of MLAs and ministers in Maharashtra like it did in Haryana.

Where is the problem in seat sharing in Mahayuti?

Recently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Maharashtra to finalize the seat sharing between the allies of the ruling coalition Mahayuti. Amit Shah not only met the leaders of Maharashtra BJP, but also met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as well as Deputy CM Ajit Pawar – it is said that the next round of talks with the alliance partners is to be held in Delhi.

It is said that discussions are going on continuously between BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar regarding the distribution of Maharashtra assembly seats – and this process has been going on for about 15-20 days.

1. According to the information that is coming out, about 50 percent of the seats in BJP have been finalized, and after Navratri, the candidates will be informed about their seats.

2. Out of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, while the BJP can contest 150 seats, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has staked claim to 70 seats for itself.

3. There are about 40 seats which are being discussed in particular. NCP is not ready to leave those seats under any circumstances, from where it has current MLAs, this is their right, but compromises have to be made in the alliance.

4. NCP leaders say that three-four seats can be exchanged, but they also need those 10-12 seats which came to Congress’ share under the alliance in the 2019 elections.

5. The most interesting thing is that there is a possibility of a friendly match between the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra on at least 25 seats – and, it is said, this has been conveyed to Amit Shah by BJP leaders as well.

Will we get to see a scene like Haryana in Maharashtra too?

The kind of pressure BJP is feeling from its alliance partners in Maharashtra, what will happen if it has to compromise because of Congress and Mahavikas Aghadi? Then BJP will have to cut down its share.

And if this happens, the same scenario can be seen in Maharashtra as is being seen in Haryana assembly elections – whining and wailing among the ticket aspirants.

At least four candidates have been found to have cried in public after not getting a ticket – and among such leaders is a minister of the current Naib Saini government. Vishwambhar Valmiki is a minister of state with independent charge in the current BJP government, but when he came to know that he is not getting a chance to contest the Haryana assembly elections, he started crying.

Former Haryana minister Kavita Jain and BJP leader Deepak Dagar are among the leaders who could not hold back their tears in public. Former MLA Shashi Ranjan Parmar even cried in an interview.

Ajit Pawar is also giving tension to BJP separately

NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s intention to become the Chief Minister has come to light through a report published in the English newspaper The Hindu. It is said that Amit Shah and Ajit Pawar had a special private meeting at the Mumbai airport.

Ajit Pawar has shared a special wish with Amit Shah – like Bihar, he should also be declared the Chief Minister of Maharashtra after the elections. Just a few days ago, Ajit Pawar had said jokingly, if he had known that he would get the CM’s chair, he would have brought more NCP MLAs along.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar wants the BJP to adopt the same formula in Maharashtra which was implemented after the 2020 Bihar assembly elections. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar was already the Chief Minister. Later, even after their number of seats decreased, BJP made Nitish the CM, RJD had also done the same in 2015.

Ajit Pawar probably wants a deal like Himanta Biswa Sarma. The 2021 Assam elections were fought under the leadership of Sarbananda Sonowal, but after the elections, Himanta Biswa Sarma, who came from Congress, was made the Chief Minister by the BJP – and today he is everywhere.

But Ajit Pawar should know that all this has become possible only after Himanta Biswa Sarma joined the BJP – has Ajit Pawar also prepared himself for this?

By the way, Ajit Pawar should know that BJP does not compromise on the issue of Chief Minister in Maharashtra, the breaking of the alliance with Uddhav Thackeray is the biggest example – and if we look at the Lok Sabha elections, it seems that after the elections, BJP will reconsider giving the chair to Eknath Shinde as well. It will be possible for Eknath Shinde to bargain with BJP only when he wins more seats than his share.