BJP likely to give 124 seats to Sena, unwilling to give Dy CM post

New Delhi: After a marathon central election committee meeting of the BJP that went on till late in the night, the saffron party has finalised its list of candidates for Maharashtra leaving just 124 of the total 288 seats for its ally Shiv Sena, say sources.

A small amount of seats are left for smaller allies like Ramdas Athawale-led Republican Party of India (RPI).

आज आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री @narendramodi जी की उपस्थिति और हमारे राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष @AmitShah जी की अध्यक्षता मे हरियाणा और महाराष्ट्र के आगामी विधानसभा चुनावों पर @BJP4India की केंद्रीय चुनाव समिति की बैठक हुई।
भाजपा दोनो राज्यों में जनता के आशीर्वाद से प्रचंड बहुमत से चुनाव जीतेगी। pic.twitter.com/o9S19e5IX7

— Jagat Prakash Nadda (Modi Ka Parivar) (@JPNadda) September 29, 2019

Though the wranglings between Sena and BJP are ironed out and an announcement is likely on Monday itself but the bone of contention remains — Sena’s demand for Deputy Chief Minister’s post.

Sources say after the meeting of the CEC, late on Sunday Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had two separate meetings. One meeting was with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah, while the other was between two top bosses of the party — Shah and working President J.P. Nadda.

Joined extensive Central Election Committee meetings for elections in Haryana and Maharashtra. We are going to polls in these states based on our development work and double engine of the Centre and State Governments, led by popular as well as industrious Chief Ministers. pic.twitter.com/Xgptm6wg6f

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 29, 2019

Meanwhile, Sena’s Aditya Thackeray is likely to contest from the Worli seat, an electoral debut for any from the Thackeray family.

For Haryana, star new entrants like wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and former captain of the Indian Hockey Team Sandeep Singh are expected to be fielded by the BJP.

Dutt is likely to get a ticket from Sonepat. Babita Phogat, who has also joined BJP along with her father in recent times has expressed her wish to contest, say sources.

The BJP is likely to announce its candidates’ list for Haryana during the Navaratri celebrations to drive home a point. The saffron party has little time left, as the Election Commission has fixed October 4 as the last date for filing nomination.

The 90-member Haryana Assembly and 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will go to the polls on October 21, while the results will be declared on October 24. The BJP, which is in power in both states, has announced that it wishes to repeat it’s incumbent Chief Ministers, should it return for a second term.

Published on: Sep 30, 2019 at 13:23 IST

IANS