On Thursday, the BJP-led ruling Mahayuti alliance ironed out its differences over seat sharing in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. BJP has agreed to leave some more seats for NCP (Ajit), and all three allies have made a joint pledge to prevent party rebels from contesting.
BJP leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Chandrashekhar Bawankule, NCP(Ajit) leaders Praful Patel and Ajit Pawar, and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had a marathon meeting at Amit Shah's residence, where the Home Minister asked all three allies to ensure that rebels do not enter the election fray. Shah said it will be the responsibility of party leaders to convince their rebels not to contest. Most of the differences between the three allies are over seats in the Greater Mumbai region.
Ajit Pawar's problem is that he has several heavyweight leaders in his party who want ticket for their kin, and if his party fails to get those seats, they may contest as rebels. It will be difficult for Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar to stem rebellion in their parties, but they have a good advantage regarding the election symbols. Both Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit's NCP have the original party symbols with them.
Maha Vikas Aghadi is yet to iron out its seat-sharing problem. Uddhav Thackeray's son Aditya Thackeray told India TV's daylong conclave 'Chunav Manch' that the decision about the chief ministerial face will be taken only after the seat-sharing arrangement is finalized. At the same time, he reminded that the people of Maharashtra still remember Uddhav Thackeray's rule.
Priyanka Chaturvedi, SS(UBT) spokesperson said at the conclave that Uddhav Thackeray leads in popularity ranks compared to other leaders, but NCP supremo Sharad Pawar has consistently said that the question of CM's face be kept on hold till the elections are over. Already, BJP-led Mahayuti alliance has decided to bombard the state with election rallies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing election rallies in Maharashtra from November 5 till 14, for eight days. He will be seeking votes not only for BJP, but also for alliance partners.
On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi is yet to come out of the woods as far as seat sharing is concerned. Seat sharing is not the sole issue. The main issue is who will become the Chief Minister if Aghadi comes to power.
For now, Uddhav Thackeray is the first claimant for the CM's chair in Aghadi and there are others waiting in the wings. In Mahayuti, there are three claimants for the chief minister's post. Eknath Shinde continues to be the CM, but if BJP wins more seats than Shiv Sena (Shinde), then Devendra Fadnavis will surely say that he is going to make a comeback. Ajit Dada Pawar is also dreaming to become the CM.
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