Mahayuti seat-sharing to be announced in a day or two: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said the seat-sharing pact of the ruling Mahayuti coalition for the November 20 state elections will be announced in a ”day or two” as discussions were in the final stages.

Shinde along with deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar met Union Home Minister Amit Shah late Friday night to iron out differences among the allies BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP about the seat sharing for the elections.

”There are no problems. The talks were constructive and are in the final stages,” Shinde told reporters here. While Fadnavis and Pawar returned to Maharashtra early Saturday, Shinde stayed back in the national capital for some meetings.

The chief minister said a decision on 30-35 seats was yet to be taken and if necessary, consultations will be held with Shah, the key election strategist of the BJP, once again. Shinde sidestepped questions on being projected as the chief ministerial face of the ruling alliance.

”We have decided to move ahead with the task at hand. We want to bring the Mahayuti government to power once again and we are confident about it,” he said to questions on the chief ministerial face of the ruling coalition. The chief minister made light of the reported plans by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil to contest the assembly elections.

”In a democracy, everybody has the right to contest elections. And everyone exercises that right as per his strength,” Shinde said about the planned electoral plunge by the Maratha quota activist. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are seeking to retain power in the November 20 polls to the 288-member Assembly. On reports about his visit to the Kamakhya Devi temple in Guwahati to offer prayers, Shinde said Assam Chief Minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma had invited him and he would like to visit the shrine.