Shiv Sena party may agree to contest 135 of the total 288 seats in alliances with the BJP for the Maharashtra assembly polls but wanted the senior NDA partner to accommodate the smaller allies.
Mumbai | Shiv Sena has reportedly agreed to contest on 144 seats and also demanded a revolving Chief Ministership in the event of the NDA returning to power once again.
Though a formal seat-sharing deal between the saffron allies is yet to be finalized, Political circles are abuzz with various mathematical combinations over the hassling to seal the deal.
“The BJP and the Sena may accept a formula to contest 135 seats for smaller allies like RPI(A), the RSP Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and Shiv Sangram Party,” a Sena leader said, who chose to remain anonymous.
However, Sena wanted BJP to allot 18 Seats to smaller allies from its own quota reasoning that they are partners of the BJP.
If the BJP were to accommodate this demand, the party will get to contest only 117 seats.
“The Sena may accept allotment of 18 seats for BJP’s allies as part of an electoral adjustment. let the BJP give 18 seats to the smaller allies from their quota,” he said.
Complicating the matter for the BJP, RPI(A) leader and Union Minister Ramdas Athavale, RSP leader Mahadev Jankar and Vinayak Mette of Shiv Sangram party have refused to accept the party’s demand to contest the assembly polls on BJP ticket.
As per reports polls, manager of the BJP is demanding more than 135 seats to accommodate leaders from opposition parties and its “growing political might”.
In the 2014 assembly election, which both the parties contested separately, the BJP won 122 seats and the Sena 63.
The 2019 Polls are slated to be held in October.
Earlier, speculations arose that 135 seats each Sena- BJP was first mooted by state BJP unit President Chandrakant Patil.
However, the Sena claimed that BJP president Amit Shah and Fadnavis had struck an understanding with Thackeray agreeing to Sena’s demand for 144 seats and the CM post a period of 2.5 years in a five-year term.
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