Maha BJP leaders meet Amit Shah, make case for contesting 160 Assembly seats

Mumbai, Sep 9 (IANS) Maharashtra BJP leaders have made a strong case for contesting about 160 seats in the upcoming state Assembly elections saying that the party should leave seats to allies Shiv Sena and NCP only after considering their respective strengths and winnability during seat-sharing arrangement.

Senior party leaders headed by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting late Sunday night with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The leaders reiterated that the BJP should remain a big brother in MahaYuti (grand alliance) and three parties together after learning from the mistakes of the Lok Sabha elections should contest the ensuing Assembly election unitedly to defeat the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

The meeting was attended by state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar, former Union Minister Raosaheb Danve, state Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, state Rural Development Minister Girish Mahajan, state Public Works Minister Ravindra Chavan, and party legislator Pankaja Munde.

The meeting took place when BJP had already launched a poll management plan for reaching up to 99,000 booths across Maharashtra and contesting the election on the development plank. However, Amit Shah’s move to hold interaction with state party leaders deserves significance, especially, when the MahaYuti government is under attack from the Maha Vikas Aghadi over the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue despite an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also over the spate of sexual abuse cases, including the Badlapur case where in two four-year-old girls from a reputed school were sexually assaulted.

According to BJP sources, Fadnavis and Bawankule briefed Home Minister Shah about the party's informal talks with Shiv Sena and NCP but reiterated that the party should be careful while considering the allocation of seats about 70 plus each.

"BJP, which had won 105 seats in the 2019 election, should press for 160 seats leaving 60 each to Shiv Sena and NCP and eight to other smaller parties. Even though the MahaYuti will contest the upcoming Assembly polls under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the party should strive to win maximum seats," sources said.

Sources said HM Shah has reportedly advised avoiding a war of words among the MahaYuti partners, giving ready-made ammunition to the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

The Union Home Minister reviewed the party’s poll preparations and directed the party leaders to avoid mistakes in fighting the election. He also took stock of the situation regarding the implementation of a slew of welfare and development schemes, including Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana and how the MahaYuti will get the benefits of winning more seats.

A party leader, who was privy to the discussions, said that the chorus has been growing within the BJP for the CM’s post and for that, the party is eyeing 160 seats with victory over the maximum seats.

Another leader said that the BJP should contest the Assembly election with 'Mission 125' so that it will emerge as the single largest party in the 288-member state Assembly and a natural claimant for the CM’s post in the MahaYuti.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Shah will visit the residences of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis for the Ganpati 'darshan' and later visit the famous Lalbagcha Raja and also Bandra before leaving for Delhi at 1.20 p.m.

(Sanjay Jog can be contacted at sanjay.j@ians.in)

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