Lok Sabha 2019: BJP to contest 25, Shiv Sena gets 23 seats in pre-poll alliance in Maharashtra

Shiv Sena will fight on 23 seats while BJP will contest 25 seats from Maharashtra in Lok Sabha elections in 2019 as the two parties announced a pre-poll alliance in the state.

The two parties will also contest the Maharashtra Assembly Election together. For Vidhan Sabha, both parties have agreed to a 50-50 seat-sharing formula. The exact number will be decided after considering the demands of other allies. The distribution of portfolios and responsibilities will be decided after the results of the election. 

The alliance was announced in a joint press conference of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, BJP president Amit Shah and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on Monday. 

Both Shah and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said public sentiment was that the two parties should come together.

Shah recalled his earlier remark that the BJP and Sena will together win at least 45 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.

Crores of workers of BJP and Shiv Sena wanted the alliance between the two parties, Shah said. The Sena is the oldest ally of BJP, he added.

Shiv Sena, which is part of the BJP-led governments at the Centre as well as in the state, has been bitter with BJP lately. It has attacked BJP-led government in the centre on various issues.

The Shiv Sena had also been insisting that it wanted the chief minister's post in Maharashtra, and the role of the senior ally. Uddhav Thackeray has sought fundamental changes in schemes for farmers like crop loan waiver and crop insurance, property tax waiver on flats below 500 sqft. These demands will be accepted.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said that says Shiv Sena's demand to shift site of RS 3 lakh crore Nanar petrochemical project from Ratnagiri has also been accepted. It will be relocated to site where there is no opposition by locals.

Shiv Sena has succeeded to get Palghar seat which was held by BJP. In the bye-election for the seat, BJP had defeated the Sena candidate.

"The alliance is in the borader national interest and for relection of BJP led govt at the Centre and alliance govt in Maharashtra," said Fadnavis. Admitting that there were "some differences", he said the parties shared the same ideology to meet the challenges.

Devendra Fadnavis also said that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray insisted on the demand of Ram mandir. "We also believe in the same. Uddhav Thackeray also insisted in issues of farmers. We have already announced loan waiver. But due to some technical issues some farmers were left out. We will review the same and take steps to reach out to those farmers and give benefit to farmers."

Thackeray said: “Maharashtra CM has kept forward all the important things in this press conference. I don't think I need to add anything. Before going any further, I pay my tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives in Pulwama attack. People have been seeing Shiv Sena and BJP for the past 30 years. For 25 years, we stood united, and for 5 years, there was confusion. But like the CM said, I still provided guidance to the government from time to time.”

Shiv Sena had insisted that the alliance for the Lok Sabha polls could be firmed up only if BJP was ready to announce the seat-sharing formula for both the general and Assembly polls in Maharashtra. During the party's national executive meet in January last year, Shiv Sena had resolved to fight the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections on its own. 

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, BJP and Shiv Sena contested as alliance partners and won 41 seats out of a total of 48 at stake in Maharashtra. BJP had won 22 seats, while Shiv Sena 19. However, they contested the subsequent Assembly polls separately.