'Mahayuti Alliance To Hold Joint Meetings Of Workers On Jan 14 For Lok Sabha Poll Preparations,' Says BJP Maha Chief Bawankule

As part of their preparations for the Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra will hold joint meetings of workers on January 14, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said on Saturday.

The Mahayuti alliance comprises the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction).

Bawankule was addressing the state BJP executive meeting here.

He said joint meetings of the workers of the three parties will be held in each district on January 14 as part of their preparations for next year's Lok Sabha polls.

Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second-highest number after 80 in Uttar Pradesh.

About 2019 Lok Sabha Polls

The BJP and Shiv Sena (undivided) had contested 41 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the 2019 elections, and won 23 and 18, respectively. While NCP under Sharad Pawar bagged four seats, the Congress and AIMIM won one each, with the remaining seat going to an independent candidate.

The political equations, however, changed after the elections. First, the Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray snapped its alliance with the BJP and joined hands with the Congress and NCP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

The Shiv Sena split and the MVA government fell after Shinde rebelled against Thackeray and aligned with the BJP to become the chief minister last year. In July this year, an NCP faction under Ajit Pawar joined the government.