Ramdas Kadam: CM Shinde-led Sena should get 100 seats in Maharashtra Assembly polls

Ramdas Kadam

A senior leader of the Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has asserted that his party should be allocated at least 100 out of the 288 assembly seats in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections. The Shiv Sena is part of the Mahayuti coalition, which includes the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Assembly elections are scheduled for October, reported PTI.

"We should get 100 seats to contest, and we will make sure that we win 90 out of them," former state minister Ramdas Kadam stated on Wednesday at an event commemorating the 58th Foundation Day of the undivided Shiv Sena, organised by the Shinde faction at the NSCI complex, stated PTI.

Notably, Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal recently mentioned that his party should contest 80-90 seats in the Maharashtra assembly elections, the report stated.

The PTI report further stated that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis later emphasised that the BJP is the largest party and will contest the most seats in the state election. However, the final seat-sharing arrangement will be determined after discussions among the leaders of the three parties, Fadnavis noted.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Mahayuti coalition won 17 out of 48 seats in the state. The BJP secured 9 seats, Shiv Sena 7, and NCP 1. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP), won 30 seats.

CM Shinde claims victory over Sena (UBT)

While speaking at an event organised on the occasion of the 58th Foundation Day of the Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde described the Shiv Sena's (UBT) triumph in the state's recent Lok Sabha elections as temporary, comparing it to a "swelling that will go away in due course," said PTI. He went on to say, "It comes and goes rapidly. It will disappear in the upcoming elections."

Speaking at the occasion, Shinde stated that his adversary Shiv Sena (UBT) won Lok Sabha seats because of the Congress' vote bank, but their electoral victory was fleeting.

Shinde claimed that Uddhav Thackeray lacks the moral authority to evoke the legacy of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. He cited the Lok Sabha election results as evidence of the Shiv Sena's continued influence in Maharashtra.

Shinde highlighted that his faction preserved 14.50 per cent of the initial 19 per cent vote share of the undivided Shiv Sena, with the remaining votes going to Thackeray's camp.