An important BJP meeting which is expected to finalize the list of candidates for the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections and reveal the specifics of its alliance with the Shiv Sena has begun at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister and BJP President Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda are participating in a meeting with top party leaders from Maharashtra and Haryana. The meeting will also reveal whether the BJP will contest more seats than the army in Maharashtra.
October 4 is the last day for filing nominations for the assembly elections in both states slated for October 2. Poll results will be declared on October 24.
The announcement, expected later today, follows protracted seat-sharing negotiations with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said yesterday that he had promised his late father Bal Thackeray to install a ‘Shiv sainik’ (party worker) as Maharashtra’s chief minister. The Sena is projecting Uddhav’s son Aaditya as the CM face.
BJP has been insisting that the incumbent Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would helm the state again if the alliance wins
“I had promised Balasaheb that I will make a Shiv sainik the chief minister of Maharashtra. I have vowed to fulfil this promise,” Uddhav said while addressing party workers in Bandra on Saturday.
A senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party had earlier said on the condition of anonymity that his party will retain the ‘big brother’ status in the alliance with around 150-155 seats to contest and the next Maharashtra chief minister will be from the BJP. The party has rejected Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena’s suggestion for the rotation of CM’s post
Remaining 8-18 seats may go to allies such as the RPI of Ramdas Athawale and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha of Mahadev Jankar, a BJP leader had told HT on condition of anonymity and added that some other prospective allies could field candidates on BJP symbol.
BJP chief Amit Shah held a marathon meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other senior state party leaders in Delhi on Thursday to discuss the seat-sharing formula with Shiv Sena.
The BJP is keen on winning a clear majority in the 288-member assembly on its own and wants to contest maximum number of seats possible after division with Sena.
Deciding candidates for Haryana is likely to be easier since the BJP is contesting all the 90 assembly constituencies.
The BJP’s Central Election Committee is also expected to meet on Sunday to announce candidates for around 100 seats in Maharashtra.
Scheduled Castes While Maharashtra has 288 seats, 29 of these are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 25 for Scheduled Tribes.