Maharashtra is one of the four poll-bound states going to the elections in the coming month. After facing a debacle in the Lok Sabha polls, the ruling Mahayuti (NDA) consisting of BJP, Shiv Sena-Shinde and NCP-Ajit Pawar is facing a tough challenge to retain power in the Maharashtra assembly elections. In the Lok Sabha elections, the Mahayti bagged only 17 seats out of the total 48 while the opposition party bagged 30 seats.

The Maharashtra assembly has 288 members and the majority mark is 145. In the current assembly, the Mahayuti has 201 MLAs while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) – have 67 MLAs. 

Now, the three parties – BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP – are looking to strike a seat-sharing deal for the upcoming assembly polls. However, the battle for constituencies has intensified as parties gear up for the upcoming elections. Reports indicate that the BJP aims to contest at least 150 seats, leaving 138 seats for the two allies. 

However, the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, is targeting a minimum of 100 seats. Therefore, the NCP could get only 38 seats but the Ajit Pawar-led faction is not willing to settle for less than 80 seats.

Securing these numbers is crucial, particularly as the coalition is still reeling from its disappointing performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections. In that contest, the coalition won only 17 of the state’s 48 seats, falling short against the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which secured 30 seats.

Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde are meeting the top BJP leadership including Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the seat-sharing issue and resolve the difference. Finalizing the seats is also important thus to have an early advantage over the MVA which has been in the campaign mode after the Lok Sabha poll boost.