Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Maharashtra on Tuesday where he is scheduled to address various programmes in Akola, Jalgaon and Sambhajinagar districts. Shah’s visit comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a target of 370-plus seats in the coming Lok Sabha elections for the BJP.
Shah’s visit, however, assumes significance given the alliance worries within the NDA comprising Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) and the BJP on the issue of seat-sharing. Shah is expected to meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis during his visit.
The meeting comes in light of mounting pressure from the BJP’s allies for a higher share of seats to contest in the general elections. At the same time, there is growing unease within the BJP too with leaders seeking a higher seat share. Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats and the BJP has set a target of winning 45-plus seats for the NDA.
The BJP has claimed 30 seats as part of the seat-sharing arrangement. However, the Shinde Sena is learnt to have demanded 22 of the 48 seats, up from its demand to contest in 18 Lok Sabha seats just last week. The Shinde Sena currently has 13 Lok Sabha MPs and the demand for 22 seats appears to be a pressure tactic by the party to stake claim to its fair share on the discussion table. The figure of 22 seats in the same number that the undivided Shiv Sena contested in the 2019 elections.
While the BJP officially refuses to acknowledge any internal issues with its allies over seat-sharing, insiders claim that there are at least 6-7 seats across the state where the BJP is locked in a turf war with the Shinde Sena and the Ajit-led NCP. With Shah’s visit, the BJP hopes to settle these claims and put up a united front across all seats in the state.
On Shah’s table today is a visit to Akola where he is expected to take stock of the poll preparedness for 10 Lok Sabha seats in the crucial Vidarbha region. Shah is also expected to address the issues on the Amravati and Buldhana seats where the BJP and Sena are locked in a turf war.
Shah will address a youth conclave in north Maharashtra’s Jalgaon at 3 PM before chairing a meeting with party officials to chalk out a poll strategy for the region that sends 8 MPs to the Lok Sabha. The Vidarbha and north Maharashtra regions are central to BJP’s plans and the party wants to ensure it wins all seats here.
In the evening, Shah will address a public rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar that lies in the Marathwada region. The seat traditionally went to the Shiv Sena until the previous Lok Sabha elections. However, the defeat of Chandrakant Khaire, the Sena (undivided) candidate, in the 2019 polls to AIMIM’s Imtiaz Jaleel has led both Shinde Sena and BJP staking claim to the seat.