Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar said on Sunday that Maharashtra Deputy CM and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis will be the final authority on decisions regarding seat-sharing and negotiations with the ruling Mahayuti allies -- Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Shelar explained that the senior BJP leader has been given the responsibility to avoid unwanted delays by streamlining the preparation for assembly elections. "The core committee (of the state unit) has met in Mumbai to delegate all decision-making powers concerning seat-sharing and the selection of assembly constituencies to Fadnavis," the Mumbai BJP unit chief told reporters.
The meeting was attended by Union minister Bhupender Yadav, BJP national secretary Vinod Tawde and Mumbai North MP Piyush Goyal. Of the 288 assembly seats in the state, the BJP had won 104 in 2019.
He also said that the formula for winning apart from the planning and seat-sharing with the allies has been finalised. “Fadnavis has been granted full authority in this regard,” he said.
Shelar said that the BJP decided to save time by streamlining the planning, discussions and decision-making with all its allies in the state to finalise the names of the candidates. He further said that the list of candidates, however, will be released at the appropriate time.
Winning the assembly polls is crucial for the BJP as the Mahayuti alliance led by the saffron party won only 17 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The BJP's numbers came down from 23 in 2019 to 9 in 2024. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), on the other hand, bagged 30 seats.
After the BJP's Lok Sabha debacle, Fadnavis offered to quit the deputy CM's post so that he can focus on party work ahead of the assembly elections. Later, Fadnavis said that he would continue to work as Deputy CM after the state BJP legislators passed a resolution reposing faith in him.
Meanwhile, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said people will not forgive Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. He claimed that Thackeray left 'bhagwa' and distanced himself from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's legacy.