Is the Shiv Sena and BJP-led rainbow coalition on the verge of a split before the assembly elections? The Swambhimaani Paksha (SP) led by Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetti has threatened to go its own way if they do not get adequate seats for the assembly.
Why are Mahayuti partners sparring?
Seat-sharing has become a complicated exercise for the saffron allies as they need to accommodate four more allies in the Mahayuti — the SP, which has a base in sugarcane cultivators and middle farmers in Western Maharashtra, Dalit leader Ramdas Athavale's Republican Party of India (A), Mahadeo Jankar's Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP) and Vinayak Mete's Shivasangram.
What is SP's demand?
"We need at least 12 to 13 seats," SP leader Sadabhau Khot told dna, adding, "if we do not get them, we may have to take a view on going our own way."
"What is the use of the alliance if we do not get enough seats? They (Shiv Sena and BJP) should not have compelled us to take things to this level" said Khot, who lost the Lok Sabha elections from the Madha Lok Sabha constituency to local NCP strongman and former deputy chief minister Vijaysinh Mohite Patil by just around 25,000 votes.
Which are these seats?
These seats are held by powerful Congress and NCP ministers – deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar (Baramati), Lok Sabha MP and former chief minister Ashok Chavan's erstwhile constituency of Bhokar, and rural development minister Jayant Patil (Islampur).
"We are demanding constituencies where the Shiv Sena and BJP have been defeated in the past," claimed Khot, adding, "our workers are strong, we have been taking on these established politicians for the past two decades." The SP is also uneasy at leaders crossing over from the Congress and NCP being accommodated in the Shiv Sena and BJP.
"We are not in a state of mind to break the alliance and go our own way. But, the seat sharing must be done soon and a collective leadership must be projected before the people," said Khot.
Will big brothers give in?
Handing over these constituencies to the SP would be akin to ceding in the opposition space to them, at least in the sub-regions the constituencies fall in, despite the symbolic fight which may be on the cards. BJP leaders claim that despite the hiccups in their relationship with their smaller allies, the Mahayuti will stay intact as these parties want to benefit from the Narendra Modi wave.
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