BJP Resolves Deadlock With Maharashtra Ally; NCP to Contest Four Seats

The NDA partners have finalised the four seats from where Ajit Pawar will field its contestants, sources told PTI.

Mumbai: After extensive negotiations, the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's NCP, has made significant progress in their discussions regarding seat allocation.

The NDA partners have finalized the allocation of four seats for Ajit Pawar's NCP, according to sources. Ajit Pawar is reportedly pushing for more seats in the state.

As per the current discussions, the "real" NCP led by Sharad Pawar's nephew will field candidates from Baramati, Raigarh, Shirur, and Parbhani. Meanwhile, the BJP is set to contest 31 seats, and the Shiv Sena will field candidates in 13 constituencies.

Baramati holds significance as a stronghold for the Pawar family, with decades-long political dominance. However, this election will witness a unique contest within the family, following Ajit Pawar's split from the party. Supriya Sule, the sitting MP from Baramati and Ajit Pawar's cousin, is expected to face competition from her sister-in-law, Sunetra Pawar, who is married to Ajit Pawar.

For the Raigarh seat, Ajit Pawar has nominated NCP's Maharashtra president and incumbent MP Sunil Tatkare to contest against Anant Geete, likely nominated by Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena. Geete had previously served as a Union Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet.

In Shirur, the NCP is considering candidates like Pradeep Kand or Adhalrao Patil. Notably, Patil, a former Shiv Sena MP, was recently appointed as the chief of MHADA by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, while Kand is the chief of a district cooperative bank in Pune.

The NCP is expected to field Rajesh Vitekar against Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav, the incumbent MP from Parbhani and a leader associated with Uddhav Thackeray's faction. Vitekar currently serves as the president of the Parbhani Zilla Parishad.

In the ongoing seat-sharing discussions, the BJP is set to contest 31 out of the state's 48 seats, the Shiv Sena 13, and Ajit Pawar's NCP will field candidates in four constituencies..