Mahayuti parties could ‘contest polls separately’
NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader Amol Mitkari has sparked speculation regarding the possibility of Mahayuti members contesting the assembly polls independently if each constituent insists on demanding 100 seats.
At an event on Tuesday evening, Mitkari emphasised the impracticality of accommodating such demands within the 288-seat assembly.
The Mahayuti alliance comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar).
“If each constituent adamantly insists on contesting 100 assembly seats in the upcoming state elections, then the parties will have to contest separately. With only 288 assembly seats available, being offered only 55 seats would be unacceptable for the party,” said Mitkari, who is an MLC and NCP spokesperson.
Pravin Darekar, BJP legislative party leader in the Legislative Council, responded by saying, “Mitkari should be reined in by senior leaders of his party. The party’s chief or state president should clarify whether Mitkari is authorised to make such comments. Seat-sharing discussions will take place among the top leaders.”
Meanwhile, the NCP (SP) on Wednesday hit out at Sunil Tatkare, an NCP (Ajit Pawar) MP, for describing his party as “original” while congratulating the newly elected Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla.
In his speech in the Lok Sabha, Tatkare said he was congratulating Birla “on behalf of the original Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar”.
The NCP (SP) posted a video clip of Tatkare’s remark on X while stating that “nobody becomes original just by making mere claims”.