Exchanging Pune and Bhandara-Gondiya LS seats among MVA partners a rumour: Ajit Pawar

Nagpur, Jun 3 (PTI) Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Saturday dismissed as a rumour the reports about exchanging Pune and Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha seats among Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners for 2024 polls.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Pawar said stock-taking of these seats is underway.

Pune Lok Sabha constituency is traditionally contested by Congress while Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had contested the Bhandara-Gondiya seat on four occasions since 2009. In the 2019 elections, BJP won this seat by defeating the NCP’s candidate. The BJP had also bagged the Pune LS seat by defeating the Congress contestant.

“These are rumours. We are taking stock,” Pawar said when asked if Pune and Bhandara-Gondiya seats will be exchanged among MVA allies- Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP, and Congress.

“All the three parties are keen on alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections,” he added.

Queried on the likely seat-sharing formula for the next general elections, Pawar said Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress are taking a review of seats at their end, while the NCP has taken a review of some constituencies.

“We are meeting in Pune on Sunday to take stock of the remaining seats,” he added.

Pawar said the MVA allies have adopted a positive approach and are ready to take a step forward and backwards if need be.

When asked if senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pankaja Munde, who is reportedly disappointed with her party, will be welcomed into the NCP fold, Pawar said it is BJP’s internal matter.

“She is a prominent BJP leader and the statement given by her is their internal party matter. It is not appropriate for us to comment on it,” he said.

Speaking at an event, Munde on Thursday said that she belongs to the BJP but the party doesn’t belong to her.

Munde, daughter of late senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde, has maintained a low profile since her defeat in the 2019 assembly elections. She was a cabinet minister when BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was the Maharashtra chief minister between 2014 and 2019. Her sister Pritam Munde is the MP from Beed in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra sends 48 MPs to Lok Sabha.

In the 2019 general elections, the BJP won 23 of the 25 seats it had contested, while its then-ally Shiv Sena (undivided) bagged 18 of the 23 constituencies it had fought. The NCP contested 19 constituencies and won four, while Congress could secure just one seat out of 25 on which it had fielded candidates. The BJP had contested the elections in alliance with Shiv Sena and the NCP with Congress.