Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Ahead of the zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections, leaders of the Shinde Sena and BJP held late-night discussions on seat-sharing on Monday at a five-star hotel on Jalna Road.
Earlier, during the municipal elections, the alliance between the two parties had collapsed just before nominations, leading to both parties contesting separately. Shinde Sena had won only 13 seats while BJP secured 56. Realizing the setback of not forming an alliance, Shinde Sena leaders have now taken the initiative to coordinate with BJP for the upcoming zilla parishad (63 seats) and panchayat samiti (126 seats) elections.
The meeting, which started at 7 pm on Monday, continued until late at night. Shinde Sena leaders present included guardian minister Sanjay Shirsat, MLA Sandeepan Bhumre, MLAs Vilas Bhumre, Ramesh Bornare, Sanjana Jadhav, and former MLA Annasaheb Mane. BJP was represented by OBC Welfare minister Atul Sawe, MLA Dr. Bhagwat Karad, MLAs Prashant Bamb, Anuradha Chavan, Sanjay Kenekar, city president Kishor Shitole, and Suhas Shirsat, among others.
Initial discussions focused on the number of seats held by each party in the previous elections. Talks then continued late into the night on allocating zilla parishad and panchayat samiti seats by tehsil.
With more Shinde Sena MLAs in the district, the party aimed for a higher share of seats, while BJP, buoyed by its success in municipal polls, sought to secure as many seats as possible.