During a core committee meeting at the party headquarters, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deliberated on seat sharing with its allies to boost its presence in the State Assembly. The party is expected to seek at least 160 seats within the three-party alliance for the upcoming Assembly elections in October.
Key State leaders, including Maharashtra in-charge Bhupendra Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw, attended the meeting. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, State unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, and former State unit chiefs Chandrakant Patil and Raosaheb Danve, along with Ashok Chavan and Pankaja Munde, participated in the four-hour discussion.
Following the meeting, Danve stated, “We reviewed all 288 seats but have not finalized the number of seats for each ally. Decisions will be made collectively by party leaders based on merit.”
A senior party leader, preferring anonymity, mentioned that the BJP aims to claim at least 160 of the 288 Assembly seats. In the 2019 elections, the BJP contested 164 seats alongside the undivided Shiv Sena. “We are the largest party with 103 MLAs, and to maintain our numbers, we need to contest more seats,” the leader noted.
Danve highlighted the party’s strategy to engage with the electorate by implementing various schemes. “We plan to energise all 97,000 booths. Workers will receive guidance at the state-level convention in Pune on Sunday,” he added.
While previous meetings focused on analysing the reasons behind the Lok Sabha election results and identifying corrective measures for the State elections, the recent two-day core committee meeting primarily discussed seat allocation and improving the strike rate.
The party’s prospects in regions like Vidarbha, Marathwada, North Maharashtra, and others will be examined on Friday. The contentious Maratha reservation issue in Marathwada was also a key point of discussion.
