Though disagreements may have emerged in the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance, the top leadership of both parties is firm on contesting the Assembly polls together. While the BJP and the Sena will contest 140 seats each in the 288-member Assembly, the remaining eight seats will go to other smaller allies.
A BJP leader confirmed to The Hindu that the seat sharing formula being considered presently gives 140 seats to each party. “The top leadership of both the parties is firm on contesting the polls as an alliance. As announced earlier, the 50-50 formula is being talked about and 280 out of 288 seats will be shared equally between two of us. The other smaller parties which are in alliance with us will get rest of the eight seats,” said the leader.
‘Smooth exchange’
According to the leader, the real test at the negotiation table would be to solve the issue of seats which were won by either the Sena or the BJP in 2014 when both contested independently; but were held or contested by the other party in earlier elections, when they stood as an alliance. “For example, Goregaon was won by the BJP in 2014, but has traditionally been with the Sena. The process of exchange has to be smooth,” he said.
A number of possible defections from opposition MLAs in seats where either the BJP or the Sena were second in the 2014 polls also make the calculations difficult. In Shirdi, Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil defeated the Sena candidate in 2014. If he joins the BJP, the Sena may have to step back from its claim on the seat. A similar situation may arise in the Wadala seat.
“Lastly, the Congress-NCP was thrown to the number three and four spot in around 90 seats in 2014. Us contesting as an alliance would mean bringing them to the number two spot. Whether we should do that is also a point of discussion at present,” the leader said.
