Trouble has hit the ruling Mahayuti alliance of the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP (Ajit Pawar) in poll-bound Maharashtra with Shiv Sena cadres publicly opposing BJP candidates in at least four seats in Mumbai, accusing the saffron party of trying to encroach on their turf.
The BJP, the largest coalition partner, was the first to announce its list of 99 candidates, a move that did not go down well with the Shiv Sena faction led by chief minister Eknath Shinde.
Home minister Amit Shah, who has been playing chief strategist for the November 20 elections, had been trying to iron out the differences between the partners but the tussle persists on at least a dozen seats, insiders said.
“The Mahayuti seat sharing is complete in 278 of the 288 constituencies. We will resolve the issues in the remaining 10 seats in a couple of days,” deputy chief minister and the BJP’s face in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, told reporters in Nagpur on Friday. Fadnavis filed his nomination papers from the Nagpur West seat on Friday.
The tussle is primarily over the Assembly seats falling in the larger Mumbai and Nagpur region, insiders said. Trouble started after Sena cadres came out publicly to protest against the candidates fielded by the BJP in Kalyan East, Thane, Murbad (in Thane district) and Airoli (in Navi Mumbai). Thane is Shinde’s home turf while the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat is represented by his son Shrikant. The Shiv Sena regards these two regions as its turf and views the BJP fielding candidates as an encroachment.
Fadnavis, Shinde and his deputy Ajit Pawar had rushed to Delhi on Wednesday to meet Shah and held extensive discussions till Thursday evening.
BJP insiders said that during the talks, Shah remained firm on not leaving the BJP’s claim on these seats but assured that the Sena would be compensated in some other areas.
“Amitbhai also made it clear that the Sena has to ensure no rebellion on the ground,” a BJP leader said.
Insiders, however, said that Shiv Sena rebels contesting on some seats in Mumbai could not be ruled out if the BJP remained adamant on not withdrawing their candidates.
The BJP is likely to contest 155 seats while the Shiv Sena 85 and the NCP 45.
Baba son’s switch
Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddiqui, son of slain NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader Baba Siddiqui, has joined his father’s party.
Zeeshan features in the list of seven candidates that Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction released on Friday for the Assembly elections. Zeeshan will contest from Bandra East, which he had won in 2019 on a Congress ticket.