Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is speculated to get 13 seats, while the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will contest on four seats in the arrangement finalised among National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls 2024, according to reports.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will field candidates for 31 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, according to the arrangement reported by NDTV.
As per the agreement, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s party will field candidates from Baramati, Raigarh, Shirur, and Parbhani.
The Baramati seat is significant as it is considered a bastion of Pawars, who have represented it for decades. The seat has become even more crucial during this election after Ajit Pawar, nephew of NCP founder Sharad Pawar, rebelled, split the party and its supporters, and eventually joined the NDA.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2024: What’s happening at BJP, NDA seat-sharing talks?
Sharad Pawar’s daughter, Supriya Sule, is the Member of Parliament (MP) from Baramati. She will likely face her sister-in-law and Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, in the Lok Sabha polls 2024. Both the factions have started hectic campaigning in the seat.
Maharashtra sends 48 members to Lok Sabha and is considered the most crucial state for the Lok Sabha polls, after Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs. The state assumes significance considering the BJP’s target of 370 seats and wanting to take the NDA to the 400-mark.
The BJP and Shiv Sena (undivided) had contested 41 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the 2019 elections and won 23 and 18, respectively. Currently in power in Maharashtra, the Mahayuti Alliance of the NDA comprises Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, BJP and the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction).
The Lok Sabha 2024 elections are expected to be held in April-May this year. The BJP government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been in power at the Centre for the past ten years, and the party is seeking a record third successive term in office.
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Published: 13 Mar 2024, 09:59 AM IST