Shiv Sena leader meets CM Shinde amid dispute over Baramati seat

Shiv Sena leader Vijay Shivtare/ Screengrab

In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena leader Vijay Shivtare met with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over a dispute over the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. Shivtare had earlier stated that he would run for office on his own, which raised concerns inside the Mahayuti alliance, reported PTI.

According to the report, during the discussion, Shinde attempted to persuade Shivtare to change his decision, but Shivtare provided no assurances.

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It is worth noting that Sunetra Pawar, the wife of NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is set to be the candidate from Baramati, fighting against her sister-in-law, incumbent MP Supriya Sule, the report added. The Mahayuti alliance consists of the BJP, the Shiv Sena, and the NCP, led by Ajit Pawar.

Shivtare told reporters that he had received tremendous public support for his candidature against the Pawars. "I told Shinde that I have received a huge support of people to contest the Lok Sabha elections against the Pawars," the former MLA told reporters. "I told Shinde that I needed to meet my supporters and discuss the matter with them. I will not decide anything right now," he added.

Speaking to news agency ANI, he had said, "I want to win this fight with the support of the public, regardless of who is against me. NCP and BJP are allies. This seat (Baramati) has gone to them, so how am I going to get it? In 2019, Ajit Pawar had said - What is your status? Your identity? So, if I have no identity, why is Ajit Pawar scared? My decision is final. I will discuss this with leaders once again in a few days. Discussion will be held with the Chief Minister and then the decision will be taken. The CM said that we will have to abide by 'Yuti Dharm'...This is not about ego...This is the fight for people's self-respect."

Election schedule for Maharashtra

Voting for 48 seats in Maharashtra in the next Lok Sabha elections 2024 will take place on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20. Votes cast across India will be counted on June 4.

According to the PTI report, the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra, S Chockalingam, stated that there are 4,78,50,789 male voters and 4,41,74,722 female voters as on March 15. He also stated that the state has 5,559 transgender people who are qualified to vote. He noted that the number of voters has increased by 34,69,534 since 2019.