Maharashtra Coalition in Turmoil: NCP Threatens Exit Over Seat Sharing Dispute

As the dispute over seat sharing became more intense, the NCP, headed by Ajit Pawar, threatened to leave the Maharashtra government coalition on Sunday and demanded the dismissal of a top Shiv Sena leader.

There are several disputes preventing the governing coalition partners, the BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), and the NCP (Ajit Pawar), from dividing the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in a cooperative manner. One such dispute is the struggle for control of the Pawar dynasty-dominated Baramati Lok Sabha seat.

Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar's daughter, has declared her candidacy on behalf of the NCP group headed by her father, from Baramati. Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Pawar, is set to run his wife, Sunetra Pawar, for the seat held by the Pawar family. He has separated and joined the BJP.

But Vijay Shivtare, a well-known local figure connected to the Shiv Sena, which is headed by chief minister Eknath Shinde, has entered the race and said that he would submit his candidacy from Baramati.

Ajit Pawar, the Shinde-led government's deputy chief minister, has come under fire from Shivtare for encouraging dynasty politics, which has stoked tensions within the governing coalition.

“Since Shivtare's outburst against the deputy chief minister, we have been demanding action against him. He has denigrated our leader with offensive words once again today. We will only be satisfied if he is fired. According to NCP chief spokesman Umesh Patil, "If not, we are thinking about leaving the Mahayuti alliance," The Indian Express cited Patil.

Due to a fight for more than a dozen seats, the governing coalition has not yet disclosed how the three partners would be represented in the legislature, according to sources. The leaders of the alliance have had many rounds of discussions, but no agreement has yet been made.

"The Shiv Sena and the BJP have been staking claims on over half a dozen seats, and on some others, it is between the Shiv Sena and the NCP," a BJP leader said.

One such well-known seat is Kalyan, which is held by Shrikant Shinde, the son of Chief Minister Shinde. The demand that Kalyan shift to the lotus emblem has sparked protests from the local BJP leaders. Similar issues are being seen in the Lok Sabha constituencies of Thane and Palghar, where the Sena and the BJP are both asserting claims.

Following the NCP's resignation threat, the alliance leaders convened once again on Sunday night at the chief minister's home.

Gujarat conflict

Even in Gujarat, a state in which the BJP has total control, the protests of local politicians and laborers have forced the party to withdraw two candidates.

The party fielded incumbent MP Ranjanben Bhatt from the Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency once again. However, Ranjanben was forced to withdraw her candidacy on Saturday due to complaints from members of her own party. Nearly ten days after her identity was revealed by the central BJP, she withdrew.