Lok Sabha elections 2024: Mahayuti in no hurry to lock seat sharing

The Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA has announced its muchdelayed seatsharing formula but the National Democratic Front NDA seems to be in no big hurry to replicate its close rivals even after the possibility of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS taking the electoral field has died downIf Maharashtra has seen MVA partners haggle over seats in the past one month the NDA has provided enough entertainment for its rivals and dumped anxiety on the stakeholders Previously the BJP was accused of influencing the Shinde Sena leadership to drop its sitting MPs and also concede seats As of now the ruling alliance has not sorted issues over Thane RatnagiriSindhudurg Nashik Palghar Sambhaji Nagar Formerly Aurangabad and some seats in Mumbai where the sharing formula is expected to be tweaked in the BJPrsquos favour if the Shinde Sena doesnrsquot get suitable candidatesMumbai mattersMumbairsquos South seat was offered to MNS on the condition that it should take Shinde Senarsquos election symbol lsquobow and arrowrsquo Raj Thackeray rejected the offer saying MNS would contest only his partyrsquos official symbol lsquorailway enginersquo because he had earned it The MNS chief confirmed the development on Tuesday while addressing his party workers at the Gudi Padva rally at the Shivaji Park Henceforth it is to be seen who among the saffron allies ndash BJP and Shinde Sena ndash contests Mumbai South Both have their candidates shortlisted It is said that given a chance BJPrsquos Rahul NarwekarMangalprabhat Lodha and Shinde Senarsquos Milind Deora are ready to face Sena UBTrsquos incumbent Arvind SawantFrom left DCM Devendra Fadnavis CM Eknath Shinde and DCM Ajit Pawar File picSatej ShindeIn the suburbs the BJP and Shinde Sena have not reached an agreement over Mumbai North West where sitting MP Gajanan Kirtikarrsquos son Amol Kirtikar is Shiv Sena UBTrsquos candidate Gajanan Kirtikar is with the Shinde faction but he doesnrsquot want to rival his son Suitable replacements are being examined by Shinde Sena Matters here are not as simple as that because the BJP too is very keen to contest here It is most likely to fieldsitting MLA Amit SatamIn an undisputed Mumbai South Central Shinde Sena has repeated MP Rahul Shewale He meets rival Senarsquos Anil DesaiCityrsquos another segment Mumbai North Central is dogged by issues within the BJP If it had been decided the party would have declared incumbent MP Poonam Mahajanrsquos candidacy along with Piyush Goyal North and Mihir Kotecha North East nearly a month ago City BJP president and Bandra West MLA Ashish Shelar is learnt to have gotten rid of reluctance to contest here His name would be finalised if he agrees wholeheartedly to take the fieldRace for ThaneBeyond city limits Shinde Sena and BJP have strained ties over Thane The BJP has been planning a big way to expand its footprint in Thane city and district It inaugurated a massive party office in Thane on Tuesday DCM Devendra Fadnavis told the party leaders and workers that Thane was very important to BJPA few days ago Fadnavis had shot up the Sena leaderrsquos blood pressure while announcing that there was no denying that CM Shindersquos son Dr Shrikant would be the alliance candidate in Kalyan the constituency the surgeonturnedpolitician has held since 2014 Fadnavisrsquos remarks were interpreted as the BJPrsquos resolve to consolidate its claim on Thane for which like Kalyan no candidate has been declared officiallyIn Palghar Shinde Senarsquos sitting MP Rajendra Gavit who the BJP had loaned to the undivided Shiv Sena in 2019 wants to contest on lsquolotusrsquo symbol instead of lsquobow and arrowrsquo because he feels that brand BJP the party in which he has invested his mind soul and heart would make him victoriousNashik has been embroiled in controversy since the beginning The moment he got wind of a plan to replace him Senarsquos Nashik MP Hemant Godse made a strong pitch by exhibiting support and displaying sharp protests in Mumbai and Nashik Later it was understood that NCP Ajit Pawarrsquos Chhagan Bhujbal would be made a candidate here It meant that Shinde Sena would also lose the constituency The BJP was blamed for engineering the plan which has not been executed yetIn RatnagiriSindhudurg BJPrsquos union minister Narayan Rane has claimed the seat for himself even before official announcements Shinde Sena was upset It protested but there has been no good news for the local stakeholders6No of LS seats in Mumbai