Bickering begins among Mahayuti allies over seat-sharing for assembly pollls

A day after the Shiv Sena inducted former police officer Pradeep Sharma’s wife Swikruti Sharma into its fold, the BJP’s Andheri unit staked a claim to the seat

MUMBAI: With the assembly elections approaching, the bickering among the three Mahayuti allies over seat-sharing has begun. In at least three constituencies, local leaders from the ruling parties are at loggerheads on account of this.

Mumbai, July 06 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with State Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar during the Mahayuti meeting, at Shanmukananda Auditorium, in Mumbai on Saturday. (ANI Photo) (Deepak Salvi)

A day after the Shiv Sena inducted former police officer Pradeep Sharma’s wife Swikruti Sharma into its fold, the BJP’s Andheri unit staked a claim to the seat. In a review meeting of the Mumbai North-West constituency on Wednesday, BJP MLA Ameet Satam said the seat would be fought by the BJP’s Murji Patel. Satam’s announcement came in response to posters put up in the constituency, calling Swikruti Sharma a “potential candidate”.

In Dindori, the NCP (Ajit Pawar) and the Shinde Sena are also in a tussle. The NCP’s state chief Sunil Tatkare announced sitting MLA Narhari Zirwal’s candidature from here in a rally in Nashik four days ago. Former MLA Dhanraj Mahale, who left the Shiv Sena with Shinde two years ago, expressed his unhappiness at this. “Seat-sharing and finalisation of candidates is done collectively by the ruling parties,” he said on Thursday. “It is not right to announce candidates unilaterally. CM Shinde gave me his word on my candidature and sizable funds for the constituency. I have complained to him and to the guardian minister of Nashik Dadaji Bhuse.”

Zirwal’s son, Gokul, is likely to be pitted against his father by the NCP (SP). “Zirwal’s candidature was also announced to stop him from coming back to the Sharad Pawar faction,” said an NCP-SP leader. The leader added that though Mahale was staking a claim, Zirwal was the sitting MLA and as per the formula of the ruling alliance, it was his natural claim.

The BJP’s Sujay Vikhe-Patil, who lost the Lok Sabha election to Nilesh Lanke (NCP-SP), has asked for either Rahuri or Sangamner in Ahmednagar. The constituencies are represented by Prajakta Tanpure (NCP-SP) and Balasaheb Thorat (Congress) respectively. Former BJP MLA Shivaji Kardile, who was defeated by Tanpure in 2019, is interested in Rahuri and unlikely to give up his claim for Vikhe-Patil.

“In Sangamner, Balasaheb Thorat, who is the seniormost MLA with eight consecutive election victories since 1985, has a strong command over the constituency,” said the BJP leader. “He has won all his elections with huge margins and defeating him will not be easy for Sujay. He is unlikely to contest from any of these constituencies; he is currently just testing the waters by staking claims. The BJP leadership is also unlikely to consider giving two tickets to one family.” Sujay ‘s father Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, an MLA from Shirdi, is Maharashtra’s revenue minister.

Another Shiv Sena leader said that the friction between the ruling allies would intensify as the elections neared. “First, it will be for the number of seats, as all three parties are demanding a high number,” he said. “Shinde is eyeing 115 seats and has appointed observers for 113, while the NCP has demanded 90. The BJP is demanding 165 seats. But even if the three parties agree on the number, there are dozens of seats where at least two allies have staked a claim.”