Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on a two-day visit to Maharashtra, on Monday (September 9), deliberated over a seat-sharing pact with the top leadership of the constituent parties of the Maharashtra coalition government. The meeting, which supposedly lasted for 45 minutes, saw the top leadership of the Mahayuti government exchange views on a seat-sharing pact ahead of the highly contentious Assembly elections scheduled in the state.
Significantly, during the meeting, which was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, NCP leader and state's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, along with another Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and Maharashtra state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Shah emphasized to the coalition government leaders that everyone would be respected in the seat-sharing arrangement. He urged that a joint meeting be convened immediately to review the same.
Further, during the meeting, it was likely agreed that the next meeting of the Mahayuti leaders would be held in Delhi, where the final discussion regarding seat allocation would take place.
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that Shah's meeting with the Mahayuti leaders comes after he chaired a meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s local leadership earlier the previous night, on the first day of his two-day visit to Maharashtra. In that meeting, according to sources, he reviewed the BJP's preparedness ahead of the assembly elections and further instructed the BJP leaders to correct the mistakes of the Lok Sabha elections and maintain mutual coordination.
