Saffron allies release first lists, BJP stays big brother in Maha

After days of negotiations, the seat-sharing agreement between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena for the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections seems to

After days of negotiations, the seat-sharing agreement between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena for the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections seems to be fixed, with the former retaining its big brother status in the saffron alliance on the back of its win in the 2014 polls.

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The Sena will contest 124 seats and get two seats of the legislative council from the BJP quota, while the BJP will have the lion’s share — 164 seats. The seat-sharing formula has not yet been formally announced, but Sena leaders unofficially released its list of 124 seats the party will contest, on Tuesday.

Both parties also released their first lists of candidates for the polls, scheduled on October 21.

The BJP’s list of 125 candidates was helmed by CM Devendra Fadnavis, who will contest from his Nagpur South West constituency, and state chief Chandrakant Patil, who will make his electoral debut from Kothrud in Pune. Patil’s candidature indicated that BJP wants to project him as the Maratha face and the clear number two leader in Maharashtra after Fadnavis.

“The party’s central leadership has given me the opportunity to contest the polls from Kothrud in Pune. I have been associated with Pune through my work for the past many years, so I am not new to the city. Kothrud is a BJP stronghold,’’ said Patil.

The Sena’s first list of 68 candidates includes party youth wing chief and son of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, public health minister Eknath Shinde, besides junior ministers. The party has retained most of its sitting legislators and accommodated five turncoats in the first list.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the saffron allies had sealed a deal that promised equal seats to both the partners. The Sena had insisted on this, but the BJP in a turnaround refused to concede it given the party’s overwhelming mandate in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and its tally of 122 seats against Sena’s 63 seats the last election.

The BJP will have to give seats to its smaller allies from within its quota of 164 seats. While the smaller parties have been promised 18 seats, it’s likely that the BJP will convince many of them to contest on the lotus symbol.

“The seat-sharing formula shows that Sena has now accepted the younger-brother role in the alliance. It’s been clear that BJP is keen on winning a majority on its own in this election and will try and contest on at least 150 seats. All its smaller allies have been marginalised and they are not in a position to flex muscles,’’ said political analyst Surendra Jondhale.

The BJP first list has also dropped two of its senior ministers, Vinod Tawde and Chandrakant Bawankule, both considered to be close to Union minister Nitin Gadkari.

Two former ministers – Eknath Khadse and Prakash Mehta – have also not made the cut. Both had faced allegations of graft. While Khadse was asked to resign in 2016, Mehta was dropped quietly in the recent cabinet reshuffle by Fadnavis. It is learnt that Khadse has filed his nomination from his Muktainagar constituency in North Maharashtra, without the party’s AB form — denoting official party candidate. It is not clear whether this is a rebellion or the party will accommodate him in the second list. “I have worked in my constituency and party for the past 42 years. I have filed the nomination as today was auspicious without looking at the party list. There is still time. Let’s see what happens,” Khadse told the media.

BJP has given tickets to majority of the turncoats it inducted in the party ahead of polls and dropped 12 of its sitting MLAs. The party has nominated 12 women candidates in its first list, including ministers Pankaja Munde and Vidya Thakur.

There were some reports of rebellion against official candidates within each party and in the saffron alliance. For instance in Pune, Sena workers are upset that the party has not been given even one seat out of the eight in the city. In Mumbai’s Wadala seat, which has gone to BJP, Sena’s former mayor Shraddha Jadhav has indicated a rebellion. But, senior BJP and Sena leaders said that these protests were expected and are not to be taken seriously.