Maharashtra seat-sharing pact: BJP to contest 25, Sena 23 seats in Lok Sabha election
TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Feb 18, 2019, 20:41 ISTHighlights
- The BJP and Shiv Sena will contest both Lok Sabha and assembly polls together in Maharashtra
- The parties have agreed to 25-23 seat sharing formula for the general election with the BJP getting the larger share
- For the assembly polls, the parties have decided to share equal number of seats after accommodating other allies
ANI PhotoNEW DELHI: The BJP and Shiv Sena on Monday announced that they will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls together, ending speculation that the bickering allies may go their separate ways.
Addressing a press conference, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP will fight 25 while the Shiv Sena will contest 23 seats in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra sends 48 lawmakers to the lower house.
"Assembly seats will be equally shared between the two parties after accommodating other political parties who are allied with us," Fadnavis said.
He added, "The two parties had a discussion on a range of issues. Uddhav Thackeray raised the issue of Ram temple at Ayodhya. We have both agreed on it. The temple will soon come up."
"We have taken this decision in the interest of the nation and we believe NDA will come to power in 2019," Fadnavis asserted.
Speaking at the briefing, BJP chief Amit Shah expressed confidence that BJP and Shiv Sena will together win 45 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
Shah added that the bitterness between the two parties is over.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the two parties along with their allies had won 42 out of the 48 seats. The BJP had bagged 23 seats, while the Shiv Sena had emerged victorious in 18 constituencies.
The two parties had contested the October 2014 Maharashtra assembly election separately and came together to form government in a post-poll arrangement.
The Sena, over the years, has not left any chance to target the Modi government. The party last year supported the opposition's demand of a joint parliamentary probe into the Rafale jet deal and borrowed a jibe from Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to target the BJP.
(With inputs from agencies)
Addressing a press conference, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP will fight 25 while the Shiv Sena will contest 23 seats in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra sends 48 lawmakers to the lower house.
"Assembly seats will be equally shared between the two parties after accommodating other political parties who are allied with us," Fadnavis said.
He added, "The two parties had a discussion on a range of issues. Uddhav Thackeray raised the issue of Ram temple at Ayodhya. We have both agreed on it. The temple will soon come up."
"We have taken this decision in the interest of the nation and we believe NDA will come to power in 2019," Fadnavis asserted.
Speaking at the briefing, BJP chief Amit Shah expressed confidence that BJP and Shiv Sena will together win 45 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
Shah added that the bitterness between the two parties is over.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the two parties along with their allies had won 42 out of the 48 seats. The BJP had bagged 23 seats, while the Shiv Sena had emerged victorious in 18 constituencies.
The two parties had contested the October 2014 Maharashtra assembly election separately and came together to form government in a post-poll arrangement.
The Sena, over the years, has not left any chance to target the Modi government. The party last year supported the opposition's demand of a joint parliamentary probe into the Rafale jet deal and borrowed a jibe from Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to target the BJP.
(With inputs from agencies)
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