Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar's NCP Faction To Demand Equal Seats As Shinde-Led Shiv Sena From BJP For Lok Sabha Elections

Potential tension may be brewing in Maharashtra's governing coalition as the NCP, under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is set to request an equal number of seats as the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections next year.

A meeting to deliberate on seat-sharing has been arranged for Tuesday (26 December) evening at Ajit Pawar's Devagiri bungalow in Mumbai, Indian Express reported.

Chhagan Bhujbal, a senior leader from the Ajit faction, asserted that the NCP should receive an equal number of seats as the Sena led by Shinde.

"Our party leader, Ajit Pawar, has voiced his thoughts on the seat allocation. He pointed out that an equal number of MLAs from the Shinde group and his own group, the Ajit Pawar group, have joined the government. Therefore, it is only fair for us to demand justice and equal representation," he stated.

The faction led by Ajit Pawar consists of four MPs, while the group under Shinde boasts 13 MPs.

The Sena, under Shinde's leadership, is asserting its right to 22 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats that the unified Sena competed for in 2019 in partnership with the BJP.

Five out of the 18 seats that the unified Shiv Sena won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections are currently held by MPs who have since joined the Shiv Sena faction under the leadership of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Earlier, Praful Patel, a representative of the Ajit faction, stated that Shinde and Ajit Pawar were scheduled to meet with senior BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in January. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss potential seat distribution among the members of the ruling coalition.