Pune: In July 2023, Ajit Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) made a significant move by joining the 'Mahayuti' alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde.
While this united front managed to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, making several seat adjustments, fresh tensions have arisen over the distribution of seats for the upcoming state assembly elections.
Ajit Pawar's inclusion in the alliance has posed new challenges, especially for future candidates from both the BJP and the Shinde faction.
In a recent interaction with Pune mediapersons, BJP leader and state minister Chandrakant Patil addressed the issue, offering a surprising solution.
He suggested that the BJP is prepared to surrender few assembly seats to maintain the alliance's integrity and ensure a strong majority in the upcoming elections. Patil’s statement emphasized the importance of keeping the alliance intact, despite the complexities introduced by Ajit Pawar’s presence.
Patil compared the current situation to the Vajpayee-era BJP government, which worked with a coalition of 24 parties. "In 2014 and 2019, we managed to secure a majority government on our own, but this time, there has been some disruption due to the misleading narrative. Despite that, Prime Minister Modi has kept the NDA allies close, giving them significant ministerial roles," said Patil.
He also highlighted that in the 1995-1999 Maharashtra alliance government, the Shiv Sena was a crucial ally, and forming a stable government without collaborating with smaller parties was nearly impossible.
With Ajit Pawar now part of the alliance, Patil indicated that the BJP is willing to make necessary sacrifices, such as conceding four seats, to ensure the formation of a strong majority government in the state.
Patil’s statement has sparked discussions within political circles about the future of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance and its ability to navigate the upcoming assembly elections without internal conflicts.
However, it remains to be seen how these seat-sharing talks will play out in the coming weeks, especially with multiple factions vying for influential constituencies.
