BJP will get maximum seat-share in Mahayuti bloc for Maharashtra assembly polls: Devendra Fadnavis

Nagpur: All three parties in the Mahayuti alliance will jointly decide about seats to be contested in the assembly elections but the BJP will certainly get the maximum share by virtue of being the biggest party, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday.

Notably, the BJP shares power with Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party.

"Leaders of all the three parties of Mahayuti will sit together to decide a proper seat-sharing formula for assembly polls and seats will be allotted accordingly. Obviously, BJP will get the maximum number of seats as it is the biggest party. However, our allies will be given due respect in the seat allotment," Fadnavis told reporters.

He was replying to a query on remarks attributed to NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal wherein he said that the Ajit Pawar-led party will get to contest at least 80 to 90 of the total 288 seats. The assembly elections are due later this year.

In the 2019 assembly polls, the BJP contested 122 seats and won 105, while its then ally Shiv Sena (undivided) fought on 63 seats and emerged victorious on 56. The Nationalist Congress Party (undivided), which was part of the opposition UPA, had won 41 seats.

The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and NCP headed by Sharad Pawar split in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Queried on the Porsche car crash case, Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio, said police are thoroughly investigating and will not stop till they reach the 'bottom of the case'.

Fadnavis dismissed Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut's claim that he (Fadnavis), PM Narendra Modi, and Union minister Amit Shah tried to defeat Nitin Gadkari in Lok Sabha elections.

"I don't want to comment on a person who writes a newspaper article after smoking ganja," the BJP leader said.