In readiness for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena, will convene joint worker meetings on January 14, as announced by state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Saturday. The Mahayuti alliance encompasses the Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction). Bawankule conveyed this information during the state BJP executive meeting held in the city.
He said joint meetings of the workers of the three parties will be held in each district on January 14 as part of their preparations for next year’s Lok Sabha polls. Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second-highest number after 80 in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP and Shiv Sena (undivided) had contested 41 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the 2019 elections, and won 23 and 18, respectively. While NCP under Sharad Pawar bagged four seats, the Congress and AIMIM won one each, with the remaining seat going to an independent candidate.
Political dynamics underwent a significant shift following the elections. Initially, the Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav Thackeray, severed ties with the BJP and formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in collaboration with the Congress and NCP.
However, internal rifts within the Shiv Sena led to the collapse of the MVA government when Eknath Shinde rebelled against Thackeray, aligning with the BJP and subsequently assuming the role of chief minister last year. In July of the current year, a faction of the NCP, led by Ajit Pawar, joined the government.