Even Before Lok Sabha Results Are Out, Seat-Sharing Talks In Maharashtra Gain Momentum For Assembly Polls

Even before the 2024 Lok Sabha results are out, the momentum for the 288-legislature strong Maharashtra state elections, scheduled around October, has already started building up. Chhagan Bhujbal has already sounded the bugle by declaring that his Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) should not settle for anything less than 80-90 seats. He feels Ajit Pawar’s party got a raw deal during the Lok Sabha seat-sharing rounds. Bhujbal himself was forced to back out in the Nashik constituency to make way for Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena candidate Hemant Godse. Many parties like Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Bacchu Kadu’s Prahar Janshakti Party, Samajwadi Party, the Peasants and Workers Party of India had not put up candidates in the current Lok Sabha polls lured by better deals in state polls.  Besides, a large number of rebel aspirants across the parties during LS elections were also mollycoddled into backing off with promises of their aspirations being adjusted during the state elections. Prominent political scions like Rohini Khadse (daughter of Eknath Khadse), Siddhesh Kadam (son of Ramdas Kadam), Abhijeet Adsul (Son of Anantrao Adsul), Kiran Samant (brother of Uday Samant), who were all denied LS seats, are likely to swing back into action mode. It will also be the real testing ground for leaders like Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Raj Thackeray, who have more at stake here in Maharashtra than at the national level. Besides the local state elections promises to activate and sharpen the divide among various lobbies and factions within the un-split parties. Each of these groups are gearing up to extract maximum seats at the seat-sharing bargaining table.