The ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by Ajit Pawar, and the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde, is set to finalize its seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. On Wednesday, Mahayuti leaders Ajit Pawar, Eknath Shinde, and Devendra Fadnavis met in Mumbai, a day after the Election Commission announced that the Maharashtra elections will be held in a single phase on November 20. The results are set to be declared on November 23.
According to sources, Shinde, Fadnavis, and Ajit Pawar are scheduled to meet Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah in New Delhi later on Wednesday to discuss the seat-sharing agreement among the alliance members. This comes as the Mahayuti aims to retain power in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, facing a direct challenge from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), a coalition of Congress, the NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar, and Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray.
Ahead of the key meeting, the Mahayuti released a report card highlighting its development achievements. The alliance pointed to major infrastructure projects such as Metro 3, the Atal Setu, and the coastal road projects in Mumbai as evidence of its commitment to development. In a sharp critique of the previous MVA government, Mahayuti leaders accused the opposition of having an “anti-development vision,” which they claimed had stunted Maharashtra’s progress during its tenure.
Mahayuti leaders also emphasized their efforts to attract industries to Maharashtra, particularly in tribal regions like Gadchiroli, where they claim job generation is happening at a much faster rate than under the previous government. “Maharashtra is now an industry-friendly state,” the report card stated, boasting of the alliance’s success in drawing industries and investments to the state.
In a political development on Wednesday, Mumbai Congress General Secretary Javed Shroff joined the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and NCP state chief Sunil Tatkare.
The upcoming polls are expected to be a closely fought battle between the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance and the opposition MVA. In the previous Lok Sabha elections, the MVA coalition had secured a strong performance, winning 31 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra. This sets the stage for a fierce contest as the Mahayuti works to retain its majority, while the MVA hopes to replicate its success at the assembly level.
