MUMBAI: Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) refuses to concede a single additional seat to its alliance partners, while Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde is forced to drop its sitting Lok Sabha MPs in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, Uddhav Thackeray has decided to contest 22 Lok Sabha seats, while Congress will contest 14 and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) will contest a total of 10 Lok Sabha seats.
The Congress party has staked claim over the traditional Sangali Lok Sabha seat, but Uddhav Thackeray has refused to concede it, stating that they already sacrificed their two Lok Sabha seats, Ramtek and Kolhapur – even though the Sena had sitting Lok Sabha MPs in these seats. However, both the sitting Lok Sabha MPs chose CM Eknath Shinde to lead Shiv Sena.
In 2019, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena contested a total of 23 Lok Sabha seats and won 18, while the BJP contested 25 Lok Sabha seats and won 22 seats in Maharashtra.
On the other hand, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is going to contest 11 to 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Earlier, Shinde had insisted on 18 Lok Sabha seats, but BJP refused to concede more seats, citing negativity against the Shiv Sena's sitting Lok Sabha MPs in the internal survey. Therefore, these sitting Lok Sabha MPs were forced to be dropped.
Moreover, CM Shinde has also been forced to concede Sena's traditionally fought seats to BJP and alliance partners, including Dharashiv, Nasik, Raigad, Thane, Raigad, and Ratnagiri.
Additionally, in Jalna, Washim, and Ramtek, BJP forced him to replace the candidate as per its choice.
"CM Eknath Shinde had a really tough time pacifying the disgruntled leaders and aspirants. Shinde was forced to yield major space to BJP; therefore, BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will contest 28 to 30 Lok Sabha seats, up from 25 seats in the previous general elections. BJP's contested seat tally has increased, but on the other hand, Shinde and Ajit Pawar-led fronts will contest fewer seats than in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. So, it is a major task before Shinde and Pawar to convince their people and make them work for the alliance candidates," he added."
