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Latest News in India: The two-day visit of Amit Shah to Maharashtra this week, ostensibly to take stock of the overall political scenario and discuss all key issues with party colleagues, didn’t have much fanfare attached to it. No public rally was allowed in Nagpur or Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar where Shah met top state party leaders.
But what happened in those behind-the-scenes meetings, some BJP insiders shared with FPJ. One of the major apprehensions of Shah, reported these insider sources, was the “failure of vote transfer” by some alliance partners at specific constituencies during the Lok Sabha polls held recently, and how to overcome that in the future.
Shah deliberated with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, and the leaders Sudhir Mungantiwar, Ashish Shelar, and Raosaheb Danve, among others, to address the issues related to the three-party seat-sharing formula and assembly poll strategies. It is reportedly said that the BJP will command little above 150 seats in the three-party seat sharing, keeping areas like Vidarbha and Marathwada and Western Maharashtra on priority and with Mumbai and Thane added as well.
“Amitbhai is primarily worried about the fact that vote transfer did not happen between the constituency that was led by Ajit Pawar and the BJP in constituencies like Junnar, Baramati, Kolhapur, and several other constituencies. He needed to say all alliance partners, including the BJP, should fight as one team and not express a lack of interest just because a certain constituency was given over to the alliance partner’s candidate. The strong message that he conveyed was that our performance is always under a great deal of scrutiny, and how we perform here will determine a lot of things for us in the next elections. There are especially seats with a lot of concern seen in their future, which would be given over to the NCP,” said a BJP office bearer from Pune, speaking anonymously.
The second apprehension that the top BJP leadership has about Maharashtra is growing unrest among party activists and some leaders at the grassroots level over inclusion of the NCP or in the distribution of some constituencies not going as per their wishes. For instance, this restlessness has lately manifested itself in Kirit Somaiya, former BJP MP from Mumbai, penning an open letter to the party’s state president and campaign committee chief, bemoaning not having been offered even a minor position in the past few years. Many believe that Somaiya’s letter has expressed a sentiment common among many party workers.
Amit Shah during his visit to Maharashtra met party leaders and delivered a message: “Those who demand something from the party may not be given what they ask for, but those who work quietly will surely be rewarded.” This was perceived by many as a response to Kirit Somaiya’s public outburst through his letter.
Amit Shah told the party leaders that Vidarbha with more than 60 assembly seats and Marathwada with 58 assembly seats were key areas for them and they should work along with the alliance partners smoothly in these regions without any friction. Shah is expected to visit Mumbai next week in an effort to take an assessment of crucial Mumbai seats and also decisions regarding the Thane and Konkan regions where the party needs to negotiate a lot with Shiv Sena.
