New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday that the seat-sharing formula within the Mahayuti alliance has been finalised and the announcement will be made on March 28. He further said that there is no confusion among Mahayuti alliance over seat-sharing.
While addressing a press conference Ajit Pawar said, "The BJP and Shiv Sena cooperated with us to decide the seats. 90 per cent of the decisions have been made. On March 28, all announcements will be made at a joint press conference with the BJP and Shiv Sena. Mahayuti will contest on all 48 seats."
Ajit Pawar also mentioned that NCP State President Sunil Tatkare will be the party's candidate for the Raigad Lok Sabha seat. Mahayuti is an alliance of the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra is set to vote in five phases to elect representatives for its 48 constituencies in the upcoming general elections. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP emerged victorious in 23 out of 25 contested seats, while the undivided Shiv Sena secured 18 out of 23 seats.
The undivided NCP, as part of the opposition alliance, contested 19 seats and managed to secure four victories. However, following the split in 2022, the Shiv Sena realigned its political stance, with Eknath Shinde, previously part of the coalition government with the Congress and NCP, aligning with the BJP.
Mahayuti Will Contest On All 48 Seats
"Mahayuti will contest on all 48 seats. Who will contest from where has already been decided," Pawar said adding that NCP state president Sunil Tatkare will contest on Raigad Lok Sabha seat. Tatkare is the sitting Raigad MP, as per Swarajya.
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Earlier reports indicated that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) would contest four seats - Baramati, Raigarh, Shirur, and Parbhani - as part of the alliance. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is scheduled to contest 31 seats, while the Shiv Sena aims to vie for 13 seats.