Maharashtra Minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday (May 27) demanded 80 to 90 seats for his party to contest from in the Assembly elections due later this year, to which Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the BJP is the largest party and will fight on more seats. NCP and BJP are allies along with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the state. The trio have contested the Lok Sabha Elections together under the umbrella of the NDA.
What did Chhagan Bhujbal say?
Speaking at a party meeting in Mumbai, Bhujbal said that the NCP got “very few seats to contest” in the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections and they “want more seats” in the state elections later in 2024.
“When we joined the alliance (BJP-Shiv Sena), we were assured of getting 80 to 90 seats to contest in the assembly elections. However, for this Lok Sabha polls, we got very few seats to contest. We must tell them (BJP) that we want more seats to contest so that we could win around 50 to 60 seats,” he said.
Of the 288 seats in the state, BJP had won 105 in 2019 Assembly polls, while the undivided NCP had bagged 54 seats.
“If we get 50 seats to contest because of the current number of MLAs with the party, how many will actually get elected out of those 50,” he wondered.
According to sources, seats will be distributed on the basis of strike rate of Lok Sabha election results. "The more strike rate a party has, the more seats it will get. After the results are declared on June 4, the performance of the three parties of Mahayuti will be assessed," sources said.
Shiv Sena has also told the NCP to wait for Lok Sabha election results. "Whatever needs to be discussed about seat sharing should be done in the Mahayuti meeting, it is not appropriate to make statements in the media," Shiv Sena has conveyed to the NCP, according to sources.
Devendra Fadnavis reacts to Bhujbal’s comments
Reacting to Bhujbal's comments, Fadnavis said BJP is the largest party and will contest more seats in this election.
“However, the seat-sharing formula will be finalised only after leaders of the three parties meet and discuss,” he added.
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