Maharashtra Assembly Polls: “Mahayuti seat-sharing talks in final stage”: CM Shinde

New Delhi [India], October 19 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said that the seat-sharing talks among the ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), are in the final phase.

“Yesterday a meeting was held with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Mahayuti’s seat-sharing was discussed and positive discussions were held. The discussions are in the final phase. The seat sharing will be finalised soon and we will give you the good news,” CM Shinde told reporters.

Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that the discussion on seat sharing is in the final stage.

“Yesterday we cleared the problematic seats by having a positive discussion. We will clear the few remaining seats in the next two days, we have decided that the cleared seats should be announced by that party at their convenience. In the system of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the processes like the Election Committee, and Parliamentary Board have almost come to an end. Our first list can come anytime,” Fadnavis said.

A crucial meeting regarding the NDA alliance for Maharashtra assembly elections was held at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence.

The meeting on Friday lasted until around 2 am and was attended by key figures including Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The three parties had previously reached a consensus on 240 seats, but discussions were ongoing for the remaining 48 seats where alignment had been challenging.

According to a source, the BJP is expected to contest around 150-160 seats, while Shiv Sena will likely contest 75-85 seats, and the NCP is poised to run in approximately 48-55 constituencies.

Assembly elections in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase on November 20 with counting of votes on November 23. With this, the political parties have begun gearing up for an election that will be unprecedented in many ways.