24 October,2024 08:42 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Amit Shah. File Pic
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar to iron out issues related to seat sharing for the November 20 poll, the PTI reported.
The three leaders had rushed to Delhi for the second time within a week for consultations about seat sharing of the ruling Mahayuti alliance that were stalled due to differences over certain segments claimed by both the Shiv Sena and the BJP.
Sources said that Amit Shah asked the alliance partners to work unitedly and strengthen the coalition to take on the rival Maha Vikas Aghadi of the Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), according to the PTI.
They said discussions on seat sharing would now shift to Mumbai and the formula announced shortly.
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The Shinde-led Shiv Sena has announced 45 candidates while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP declared its nominees for 38 seats in the 288-member House.
The BJP has declared its first list of 99 candidates for the November 20 elections.
The saffron party is keen to contest more than 150 seats in a bid to emerge as the single largest party in the post poll scenario, as per the PTI.
The last date for filing nominations is October 29.
Meanwhile, some of the candidates fielded by the ruling as well as opposition parties, including former MP Rajan Vichare and ex-minister Jitendra Awhad, filed their nomination papers in their respective assembly constituencies in Mumbai and Thane district of Maharashtra on Thursday.
Thane is the home turf of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The district comprises a total of 18 assembly constituencies, including the Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat that the CM represents.
So far, all three ruling parties - Shiv Sena, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar - have announced the fist list of their candidates, while from the opposition side, only the Shiv Sena (UBT) has done so.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and state NCP (SP) chief Jayant Patil on Thursday filed their nominations. As many as 153 candidates have filed nominations across the state so far since the process began on October 22. The last date for filing nominations is October 29.
(with PTI inputs)
