MUMBAI: After winning seven out of 15 Lok Sabha seats and strengthening his position within the ruling NDA, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde called his party ministers and leaders meeting at his official residence Varsha bungalow on Wednesday where the party decided to contest 100 state assembly seats in 288-member assembly.
The Shiv Sena leaders who attended the meeting said the CM looked confident of returning to power heading the state as the CM. “It was decided that the Shiv Sena should assertively ask the BJP that Shinde alone should be projected as the CM,” said a source.
Another leader pointed out that in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP “cheated” Shiv Sena-Shinde in the name of a “survey” but this time, the party won’t allow it. “The Lok Sabha results showed that the BJP is no more a strong force in the state while the stock of the Shinde-led Sena is rising as evident by the party’s strike rate in the LS polls,” said a Shiv Sena source.
“So, if the BJP leadership is serious about returning to power, then it should support Shinde and allow him to contest at least 100 assembly seats. The BJP can share the remaining seats with Ajit Pawar-led NCP,” said the Sena leader.
Sources said Shinde has already engaged several ad agencies and consulted political strategists. “Big hoardings have been erected which show CM Shinde in the forefront, pushing PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah down at the corner of the hoarding. A campaign along the lines of ‘Apala nath’ – your close person -- has started. In the coming days, more ads will be out, sources said.
Besides, Shinde is also banking on Part-II of the Dharmavir film due to release before the assembly elections. The movie is believed to glorify Shinde, his personality and his work. It will be shown free-of-cost at every cinema in Maharashtra,” said the source. On the other hand, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is aiming to contest 115-125 of 288 Assembly constituencies in the state with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance for the Assembly polls, sources said.