Mumbai, March 26 Despite hitches in stitching the seat-sharing arrangement with BJP, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has asked the sitting MPs and aspirants not to take aggressive postures but wait for an honourable proposal.
The trigger was a tiff between his party and BJP over Nashik, Thane, Palghar and Hingoli seats to mention a few.
The Shinde faction MP from Nashik, Hemant Godse joined by Minister Dada Bhuse and other functionaries put up a massive show of strength at the Chief Minister’s Thane residence urging him not to give the seat to BJP. They made a strong pitch for retaining claim over Nashik, which is one of the onion and grape growing hubs in the country. Godse had won the 2019 elections defeating NCP nominee Samir Bhujbal with a margin of 2,92,204 votes.
Hemant Godse’s move to seek CM’s intervention comes days after party MP Shrikant Shinde during his Nashik visit had declared former’s nomination even before the release of the formal list of candidates.
CM Shinde asked Godse not to go by rumours. "Nashik is Shiv Sena’s bastion. Our stand is quite clear that Nashik seat should remain with Shiv Sena. Victory of every candidate of MahaYuti is crucial for Narendra Modi to become the Prime Minister for the third time. Senior BJP leadership is aware of our proposal and we can expect favourable results," the CM told Godse and his supporters.
On the other hand, a BJP delegation comprising party legislators Seema Hire, Devayanai Pharande and Rahul Dhikale met Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and staked claim over Nashik seat citing that BJP’s presence is much more compared to Shinde faction in the constituency. BJP has three legislators in Nashik East, Nashik West and Nashik Central while Shinde faction has none. They also brought to the notice of Fadnavis that the election of Shiv Sena nominees in 2014 and 2019 was possible due to BJP’s strength.
Devayanai Pharande has argued that Nashik constituency is mainly urban with BJP’s dominance. Besides, BJP has power in Trimbakeshwar municipality while it had its rule in Nashik Municipal Corporation. Moreover, there are over 100 corporations with the party's strong booth level machinery. DyCM Fadnavis has asked them to wait till the final decision on seat-sharing arrangement is arrived at.
Moreover, the Shinde faction is reluctant to leave Thane and Palghar seats which BJP has demanded. The faction is strongly in favour of retraining the Hingoli seat in Marathwada where BJP has staked its claim.
However, CM Shinde has asked the party functionaries not to be restless as the discussion over seven to eight seats was still underway with the BJP. This is despite the meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday night with CM Shinde, Deputy CM Fadnavis and DyCM Ajit Pawar.
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