Stating that the ruling tripartite Mahayuti alliance was going all-out to win 45 of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming parliamentary election, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday said that the three ruling parties — Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, the BJP and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party faction - will begin coordination meetings from January 14 at the district level.
The BJP State president further stressed there would be “no controversy over seat-sharing” between the three parties as the Central leadership and the parliamentary boards of the parties would decide on the allocation of a particular Lok Sabha seat and that the Mahayuti’s policy was to win every seat.
Also read | Influx of Maratha leaders may upset equations in Maharashtra BJP
Addressing a joint press conference along with Shinde camp Minister Dada Bhuse and senior NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) leader Sunil Tatkare, Mr. Bawankule informed that as part of the Lok Sabha election strategy, joint preparatory meetings between leaders of all three parties would first be held at the district level, to be followed by meeting between leaders and cadre of the parties at the taluka and booth levels.
“Throughout January, meetings will be held at first district and then booth levels. This will be followed by meetings in February at the divisional level in the presence of CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar,” Mr. Bawankule said.
The BJP State chief further said that around 300 leaders from each party, including the Guardian Ministers of every district, would participate in the district-level coordination meetings of the Mahayuti.
“There will be no tussle between the parties over a particular Lok Sabha. While it is natural that ever party - be it the Shiv Sena, the NCP or the BJP - will want to contest on a particular Lok Sabha, all controversy will cease once the Central leadership and the parliamentary board rules on the seat-allocation process. So, we are not concerned if the BJP loses a seat to the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) or Ajit Pawar’s NCP or if the reverse happens for the other parties, as our policy will be to win every seat,” Mr. Bawankule said, remarking that the mood of the public was to see PM Modi return in 2024.
He further claimed that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition would witness a massive exodus of workers and leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
“The preparations of the Mahayuti are such that we are aiming to win more than 45 seats in Maharashtra. There is no question of any battle here. We are preparing in such a way that it will be a straight victory. All our leaders are already touring the State extensively. There is a strong feeling in favour of PM Modi. After some time, only the top leaders of the MVA will remain standing, their cadre and other leaders would have joined us,” asserted Mr. Bawankule.
The BJP State chief further expressed confidence that the Mahayuti would cross 225 of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly election slated to be held later this year.
