Legislative Council Seat Distribution: Tension Between BJP-Shinde Faction
Mumbai, 11th January 2023: Last year, Eknath Shinde formed a new government in Maharashtra in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, lately, news of a rift between Shinde and BJP has come to the fore. Elections will soon begin for five seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council on 30th June. Reportedly, a tussle has emerged between the two parties regarding the election.
Reportedly, this issue was also raised in the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. BJP has been accused of fielding their three candidates. Despite this, no discussion was held with the Shinde group. Now, the Shinde faction has expressed its displeasure on this matter. Apart from this, IPS officer Deven Bharti was appointed as Special CP in Mumbai Police a few days ago. There are also reports of Eknath Shinde being upset regarding this.
Maharashtra BJP State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule has revealed the names of three candidates for the Legislative Council elections. Candidature has been given to Dnyaneshwar Mhatre for Konkan Legislative Council, Ranjit Patil from Vidarbha West and Kiran Patil for teacher quota from Marathwada. On the other hand, in the context of the Nashik Legislative Council seat, it is said that a decision will be taken in a day or two. According to the information, the Eknath Shinde faction is demanding both Nashik and Konkan, while BJP has decided on the names of the candidates without discussing the matter with them.
Minister of Eknath Shinde faction Dada Bhuse raised the issue of the Legislative Council in the cabinet meeting held on Tuesday. He asked Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis how the names of the Legislative Council candidates were revealed by the BJP without any consultation. The Shinde faction has staked its claim on the place of Nashik. Dada Bhuse also talked about giving three out of five seats to the BJP and two to the Shinde faction. Fadnavis said that this is not a point of dispute. Minister Uday Samant was also present during the discussion.
Eknath Shinde faction spokesperson and former MLA Krishna Hegde said that the reports of a rift between their party and the BJP are false and baseless. “The people whose names have been decided by the BJP, most of them are already MLCs there. As far as the appointment of Deven Bharti is concerned, no displeasure has been expressed from our side. The Shinde-Fadnavis government is working together in the interest of Maharashtra,” he said.
