Despite affirmations by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sena contesting the State Assembly polls jointly, there is uncertainty over the proposed BJP-Sena alliance on account of a thorny seat-sharing arrangement in the eight Assembly segments in Pune city.
The BJP had swept all seats in Pune in the 2014 Assembly elections when a rupture in alliances saw the two parties (as well as the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party) contesting the polls separately. Now, the BJP’s city unit is not disposed to let go of any of these segments in face of the Sena’s claims on at least three of them: Hadapsar, Shivajinagar and Kothrud.
BJP city unit chief Madhuri Misal said since the party has eight sitting MLAs, there was no reason to let go of any of the seats. On Thursday, senior BJP leader and State Education Minister Ashish Shelar interviewed aspirants for the eight seats.
In the wake of the party’s success in the Lok Sabha elections, 131 aspirants have come forward as potential candidates. The Kasba Assembly segment is set to get a new candidate as the sitting legislator, senior BJP leader Girish Bapat, was recently elected to the Lok Sabha. Among those eager for a ticket from Kasba Peth include Pune Mayor Mukta Tilak and Mr. Bapat’s daughter-in-law, Swarada.
In the results of the 2014 Assembly polls, the Sena’s Mahadeo Babar was unseated by the BJP’s Yogesh Tilekar, while Chadrakant Mokate was routed by the BJP’s Medha Kulkarni in Kothrud.
The Shivajinagar seat, once a Sena stronghold, has slipped from the party’s grasp even before the 2009 Assembly elections, with its former MLA Vinayak Nimhan switching alliances with the Congress before re-entering the Sena fold after the 2014 polls.
While the BJP has commenced their poll preparations in the city on a war footing, the Sena’s leaders and cadre have yet to gear up for the challenge.
However, some Sena leaders have said statements by local BJP leaders did not mean anything as the parties would be contesting jointly.
“The opposition Congress-NCP is not even in the picture this time. It is a tussle for supremacy between the BJP and the Sena. The BJP’s internal survey shows they can win more than 160 of the 288 seats on their own. Any seat-sharing formula they present before the Sena will be based on these considerations. It is hardly likely they would be willing to give up seats with sitting MLAs, as in Pune city,” said a political analyst.
