Amit Shah to fly down to Mumbai, will solve seat-sharing disputes

NEW DELHI: While BJP released the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections that included a total of 195 candidates spread across different states, one state was shrewdly avoided. Yes, Maharashtra’s absence was conspicuous, and now as per reports Home Minister Amit Shah is all set to directly intervene, to resolve the ensuing dispute over seat sharing.

Shah, who will arrive in the state on Tuesday, will discuss seat-sharing issues in Vidarbha, Marathwada and North Maharashtra regions. Amit Shah has been attending election meetings in Akola (Vidarbha), youth gathering in Jalgaon (North Maharashtra) and public rallies in Sambhajinagar (Marathwada). As per party insiders, Amit Shah’s arrival will serve a dual purpose. The master mediator is also expected to kick start the saffron party’s election campaigning in the state.

As per reports, Independent sitting MP Navneet Rana is all set to contest on a BJP ticket in Amaravati. However, the BJP is apprehensive about fielding Rana as the former actress is currently mired in a supreme court case for obtaining a fake Scheduled Caste certificate. Meanwhile, BJP ally Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) is also eyeing the Amaravati seat.

In Chandrapur, Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who belongs to the Komti (OBC) community, is slated to contest, but the party now feels that the result would favour them more if the candidate comes from the dominant Kumbi community.

Nagpur, Bhandara-Gondia, Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Wardha, Ramtek, Buldhana, Yavatmal-Washim, Wardha and Akola constituencies in Vidarbha region are crucial for the NDA, as the party is hell-bent on winning 45 out of 48 seats in the state. The BJP is also aiming for a big win in northern Maharashtra, which includes the Lok Sabha seats of Jalgaon, Raver, Dindori, Nashik, Dhule, Nandurbar, Shirdi and Ahmednagar.

On another note, BJP is keeping note of the reservation dilemma which has snowballed into a major issue in the Marathwada region. There is also a BJP-Sena tussle over the Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri seat in the Konkan region. Union Minister Narayan Rane had said that BJP will contest here. In western Maharashtra, there is a dispute with the NCP (Ajit Pawar) faction. BJP is also adamant about securing the Sambhajinagar seat from the Shinde faction.