Maharashtra Assembly Polls: How Many Seats Does Ajit Pawar Want For NCP? Here's What Chhagan Bhujbal Said

Maharashtra Assembly elections: Ahead of the upcoming polls, check out where the ruling Mahayuti alliance's seat-sharing arrangement among its members BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena stands.

Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024: With the Maharashtra elections due in a couple of months, the state's alliances are at play. The ruling Mahayuti alliance, after a battering in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is looking for a way to bounce back. It will, thus, have to strike a delicate balance among the members to keep every leader happy and ensure a convincing win in the Maharashtra assembly election.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday said that the seat-sharing between the ruling Mahayuti will be finalised soon. The Maharashtra unit president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, also said that nearly 80% of the seat-sharing formula has been finalised among the NCP (Ajit Pawar)-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde)-BJP alliance has been finalised. This translates roughly to about 288 assembly constituencies.

Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi's agreement will be reached much before the Opposition, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), reaches cracks a deal. The MVA is composed of the NCP (Sharad Pawar), the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), and the Congress.  

When asked about the specifics of seat-sharing among the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies and its formal announcement, Devendra Fadnavis said in Pune, "It will be finalised soon." Fadnavis refrained from providing detailed information on the issue.

Bawankule said that at a recent meeting among Chief Minister Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena), Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and Praful Patel (NCP), it was decided that the Mahayuti would bank on the most winnable candidates in each constituency.

Meanwhile, Industries Minister Uday Samant, who is associated with the Shiv Sena led by Shinde, said that the three leaders of the alliance are well aware of the political situation in Maharashtra. He said: "The Mahayuti would not make the mistake of announcing candidates too late this time."

How Many Seats Does Ajit Pawar's NCP Want?

Uday Samant said the seat-sharing formula within the Mahayuti had been finalised for more than 75% of the constituencies. However, Cabinet Minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal said: "I do not have any information about the seat-sharing formula between the three parties. But we [NCP] have demanded about 80 seats to contest the elections," reported ABP News.

In the current assembly, the BJP is the largest party with 103 MLAs, followed by NCP (Ajit Pawar) 41, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) 40, Congress 40, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) 15, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) 13, and others 29. Some seats are vacant. The Maharashtra Assembly elections are likely to be held in November.