Shiv Sena and BJP Hold First Round of Seat-Sharing Talks for Maharashtra Polls

Leaders of the Shiv Sena and the BJP held their first round of seat-sharing talks in Mumbai on Wednesday ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections, concentrating mainly on seats that might be given to their smaller allies.

What was discussed

A BJP leader said no decision had yet been taken on how many of the 288 seats in the house each party would contest. He said it was the first day of work on a seat-sharing formula, and that while some seats were discussed, the number to be shared with allies had not been fixed.

The meeting took place at the residence of state BJP president Chandrakant Patil and was attended by Sena leader Subhash Desai and Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar of the BJP.

New entrants and allies

Asked about leaders who had recently come over from the Congress and the NCP, the BJP leader said their seats would be counted as belonging to whichever party each sitting MLA had joined. He added that most such MLAs would be given tickets by their new parties under an arrangement already agreed.

The BJP-Sena alliance in the state also includes smaller parties such as the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP) and the RPI (A).

What happened next

In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly election, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, the NCP 54 and the Congress 44. The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance later broke down, and Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena became Chief Minister in November 2019 with the backing of the NCP and the Congress.

See also: Elections | Bharatiya Janata Party

Originally published on 5 September 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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