While the ruling alliance in Maharashtra, the MahaYuti, has set a goal of securing 45+ seats in the Lok Sabha, the distribution of seats among the allies is expected to be a challenging task. This is because the cumulative demand of BJP's allies approaches nearly 30 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, which implies that the BJP will have fewer seats for itself in the state in 2024 compared to its 2019 tally.
The sitting MPs of the Shiv Sena, under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, held a meeting at the CM's official residence, Varsha, on Monday. They decided to stake a claim to 22 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, based on the historical Shiv Sena-BJP alliance seat-sharing formula of 22:26 seats. In 2019, the undivided Shiv Sena had secured 18 out of the 22 seats they had contested. Of these 18, 13 currently belong to the faction led by CM Eknath Shinde.
While the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) asserts its right to 22 seats, the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) aims to contest at least six Lok Sabha seats if it can secure this in the seat-sharing agreement. The undivided NCP had four MPs in the Lok Sabha, with only one now under the Ajit Pawar faction. Despite this, the party is preparing to introduce new candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The party has reviewed potential Lok Sabha seats it can contest and identified potential candidates, according to party sources. Some of the names being considered to ensure victory in the seats previously held by the opposition parties include former Chairman of the state legislature RamRaje Nimbalkar, Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra, Son Part, former Speaker of the legislative assembly Dileep Walse Patil, former MP Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, and Satish Chavan.
However, the BJP, which currently has 23 Lok Sabha MPs from the state, would be left with about 20 seats to contest if it agrees to the demands of the Shiv Sena and the NCP. Furthermore, there are common claims for certain seats, such as Raigad, which is currently represented by Sunil Tatkare in the Lok Sabha. The Shiv Sena has also insisted on this seat, contributing to the delay in appointing the guardian minister for the district.
The BJP is inclined to contest more than 26 seats, which is the number it contested in 2019. The party has no intention of allocating more than 13 seats to the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction). Some within the party believe that many Shiv Sena members might run on the BJP's Lotus symbol, increasing their chances of victory and the party's representation in the Lok Sabha. However, the Shinde faction seems unwilling to follow this old formula.
Against this backdrop, it will be intriguing to observe how the seat-sharing negotiations within the MahaYuti alliance in the state progress.
