"Announcement On 28 March": Ajit Pawar Says Seat-Sharing Among BJP, Shiv Sena And NCP 90 Per Cent Final For Maharashtra

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar revealed on Tuesday (26 March) that "90 per cent of the decisions" regarding seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections have been made.

NCP, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena are part of the ruling coalition called Mahayuti in Maharashtra. However, the parties could not announce a seat-sharing arrangement despite a month of talks.

"There is no confusion among Mahayuti. We sat together and decided on seat sharing. BJP and Shiv Sena cooperated with us to decide the seats," Ajit Pawar said asserting that all announcements will be done at a joint press conference on 28 March.

"Mahayuti will contest on all 48 seats. Who will contest from where has already been decided," Pawar said adding that NCP state president Sunil Tatkare will contest on Raigad Lok Sabha seat. Tatkare is the sitting Raigad MP.

Earlier, it was reported that NCP will be contesting four seats of Baramati, Raigarh, Shirur, and Parbhani under the alliance. The BJP is slated to contest 31 seats, while the Shiv Sena will vie for 13 seats.

The sitting MP from Baramati and Ajit Pawar's cousin, Supriya Sule, will likely face off with her sister-in-law and Pawar's wife, Sunetra Pawar. In Shirur, the NCP may field Pradeep Kand or Adhalrao Patil.

Rajesh Vitekar is poised to represent the NCP in Parbhani against Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav, a prominent leader from the Uddhav Thackeray camp and the current MP. Vitekar contested the 2019 elections also from here.