Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Saturday that the Mahayuti alliance has completed its first round of seat-sharing talks for the upcoming Assembly poll and his party, which is growing in strength, is aiming to contest 60 seats.
Addressing a youth rally in Nagpur, Mr. Pawar said, “We had our first round of discussions on seat sharing. We will sit again for the second round and decide on the seat-sharing equation. In the 2019 election, we won 54 seats. Since this time we have the support of three Congress MLAs and three Independents, our strength is only going up. Hence, we will be seeking around 60 seats.”
The NCP president also mentioned that “elective merit” will be the party’s criterion to decide on candidates and the seats that they will contest. He hinted at the possibility of two more Opposition MLAs offering support to the NCP.
However, Minister and BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar responded cautiously to Mr. Pawar’s announcement. He emphasised the importance of a collective decision-making process within the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena.
“In an alliance like the Mahayuti, one party cannot be given the maximum number of seats. If a certain party acquires specific seats forcibly, and in case they lose them all, it will cause harm to the entire alliance. The decision on seat sharing will happen based on the elective merit of the party. The decision will be made by the leaders of all three parties in the alliance,” he said.
Mr. Pawar also sought to play down the controversy over Shiv Sena Minister Tanaji Sawant’s remarks against his party, stating that he works for the people and does not pay attention to such criticism.
