In a claim that put the Eknath-headed Shiv Sena on a back foot, breakaway NCP group leader Ajit Pawar announced here on Wednesday that his party would contest 90 seats out of 288 seats in the 2024 State Assembly which will leave the remaining 198 seats to the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Addressing his supporters at the MET Institute of Management at Bandra in north-west Mumbai, Ajit said his party (NCP with the clock symbol) would contest as many as 90 seats in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls. “Of the seats that we intend to contest, I am confident we will win at least 71 seats”.
When he made an announcement about his party contesting 90 seats, Ajit gave an indication that he had arrived at such an understanding with the BJP leadership before joining the Shinde-Fadnavis Government in the State on Sunday.
Ajit’s announcement has upset the plans of the Shiv Sena, which has a strength of 50 MLAs, including its own 40 MLAs, and it has been wanting to contest at least 70 to 90 seats in the 2024 polls.
Now with Ajit staking a claim for 90 out 288 seats, the BJP - which has a strength of 105 seats in the current State Assembly - will have to give some seats out of its kitty of 198 seats to the Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena, with which it is currently sharing power in the state.
In fact, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena is already feeling the pinch of the Ajit faction joining his Government. So much so that some of Shinde Sena MLAs are already in talks with the rival Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena so that they can return to the parent party in the coming weeks.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will have a tough time keeping his flock together. Much to the dismay of Shinde, it is being speculated in the media that the ruling BJP is expecting a ruling by Speaker Rahul Narvekar on the disqualification of 16 Sena MLAs that might go against the Chief Minister.
In such an event, Shinde might not continue as the chief minister and Devendra Fadnavis would replace in the post. In such an event, the BJP will be able to handle Shinde Sena in an effective manner.