The BJP is likely to contest 12 seats, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will get 3 seats and the Sunetra Ajit Pawar-led NCP will contest 2 seats, according to a “preliminary” seat sharing formula for the forthcoming Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) elections, a senior ruling Mahayuti alliance leader said here on Friday.
There is a strong possibility that traditional seats will be swapped in some constituencies to resolve the seat distribution rift within the BJP-led ruling Mahayuti alliance partners.
The decision has not been finalised but its general direction is expected to ensure coordination among the ruling Mahayuti parties and ensure their victory, according to the leader, who said that a final is yet to be worked out.
Sources said that there have been positive discussions among top leaders of the BJP-led ruling Mahayuti alliance regarding seat sharing, and the official and final announcement about the seat sharing formula will be made later this week.
There were disputes within the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti regarding seat distribution. Since the BJP is strong in many places, there was speculation that the BJP would field candidates in 14 to 15 out of the total 16 seats.
At least initially, there was a tug-of-war within the ruling Mahayuti alliance parties regarding seat sharing. Matters became complicated after the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena demanded 5 more seats and was adamant about contesting these 5 seats which include Nashik, Parbhani, Thane, Sambhajinagar and Yavatmal. Additionally, Eknath Shinde’s Sena strongly pushed to contest from the Raigad seat. The Eknath Shinde-led Sena is said to be strong in these six seats.
Yet, the BJP has an upper hand in discussions, since the party has a larger number of corporators, and hence can push to contest more seats. The BJP does not seem to be willing to comply with the demands of its junior Mahayuti alliance partners like Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Sunetra Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
According to another leader, the main issue which has complicated the seat sharing arrangement is which party from the ruling Mahayuti alliance will be allowed to contest from Thane and Pune.
The BJP has a strong presence in both these places but Thane is considered the stronghold of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena, while Pune is the stronghold of the Sunetra Ajit Pawar-led NCP. There is a possibility of a dispute over this issue, sources said.
In a related development, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik clarified his party’s official stance at a press conference.
“Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will take the final decision on who to field for the Legislative Council. Earlier, we had 5 MLCs in Dhule and Konkan. Now, because the party’s strength has increased, we have demanded 7 seats. The top leaders of the Mahayuti will sit together and take the final decision about this”.
According to Shinde Sena sources, the party has now decided not to back down under any circumstances and stick to its demand to contest 7 seats. During the seat sharing for the Lok Sabha, assembly and municipal elections, the Shinde Sena had compromised with the BJP by accepting fewer seats, despite having more strength.
This earlier compromise is still present in the minds of many Shinde Sena leaders and workers in the party, which is why the Shinde Sena has taken an adamant position that another compromise will not be allowed to happen again in the Legislative Council elections as well.
Meanwhile, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is also preparing to contest forthcoming Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) elections and discussions are on, though nothing has been finalised or revealed by any of its leaders so far.
Elections to the Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) will be held for a total of 16 seats in the state. These 16 seats are Solapur, Ahilyanagar, Thane, Jalgaon, Sangli, Nanded, Yavatmal, Pune, Bhandara-Gondiya, Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Nashik, Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli, Amravati, Osmanabad-Latur-Beed, Hingoli-Parbhani and Sambhajinagar-Jalna.
Nominations to contest these 16 Legislative Council seats will be accepted from May 25. Nominations will be accepted until June 1, after which they will be scrutinised till June 2.
The last day to withdraw nominations will be June 4. Voting for these seats will be held on June 18 and counting of votes will take place on June 22.