Mahayuti under Eknath Shinde is united says, Fadnavis

Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the seat-sharing formula for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections among the Mahayuti constituents BJP, Shiv Sena and the (Ajit Pawar-led) NCP has almost been finalised for Maharashtra, and it is proposed that while BJP will contest 26 seats, Sena and NCP together will contest 22. Maharashtra has 48 LS seats in all. BJP had fought 25 LS seats in 2019 and the then-undivided Shiv Sena 23, with the BJP winning 23 and Sena 18.

Fadnavis said the Mahayuti under the leadership of Eknath Shinde was united in the real sense and there were no chinks in it. “Shinde is firmly in the saddle, and there is no substance in reports saying a change in leadership is on the cards. I am also not contesting the Lok Sabha elections. As stated earlier, I will be party nominee from my traditional seat in Nagpur for the assembly elections,” he said.

Speaking on the norms for allotment of LS seats, Fadnavis said that during informal meetings with leaders of NCP and Shiv Sena, it has been decided that elective merit and renomination of sitting MPs will be the main formula for selection of candidates. “We have completed the survey of all 48 Lok Sabha constituencies, and we have basic information on candidates who are likely to win. So far as those candidates who were elected in 2019 are concerned, it is a convention to renominate them. Certainly, this is not the final word, and discussions and negotiations will be held at different levels before a final decision is taken,” Fadnavis added.