Finalising seat-sharing in Maharashtra, which sends the second-highest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha, has proven to be tricky for the National Democratic Alliance, with all three key partners – the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP – pushing for a higher number of seats than the others are willing to concede. With BJP’s chief troubleshooter and Union Home Minister Amit Shah holding a late-night meeting on Tuesday with leaders of the other parties, sources said a breakthrough is expected soon.

Party sources said the meeting started around 10.15 pm and Mr Shah held a discussion with Deputy Chief Minister Pawar in the presence of BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the first 30 minutes, after which the two leaders left. The next 50 minutes saw talks between the Home Minister and Chief Minister Shinde. 

Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the BJP wants 30 to be able to achieve its twin targets of winning 370 seats nationally and taking the NDA to the 400 mark. Sources said the party is willing to leave 12 seats from the Shiv Sena and six for the NCP, a prospect the other partners of the Mahayuti – as the alliance is known in Maharashtra –  are not happy with. 

Pointing out that the Sena symbol and name are with him, Chief Minister Shinde, sources said, has been pushing to be allocated 23 seats, the same number that the undivided Shiv Sena had contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls – before the split in 2022. Failing that, Mr Shinde and his party are reportedly ready to settle for 18 seats, which the Shiv Sena had won in the last Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP’s division of constituencies with the then Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had caused heartburn on both sides even in 2019. The national party had contested 25 seats and won 23 while the Sena had contested 23 and won 18. The BJP camp, sources said, believes it is entitled to a larger share than last time given PM Narendra Modi’s popularity and the fact that it is the single-largest party in the Maharashtra Assembly. 

Complicating matters, however, is the entry of Ajit Pawar’s NCP, which joined the government last year and is pushing for 10 Lok Sabha seats. The then Sharad Pawar-led united NCP had only won four in 2019.

Contentious Seats

Sources said while a consensus is emerging on most other seats, 10 are proving to be a bone of contention. These are Kalyan, South Mumbai, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Shirur, Amravati, Sambhajinagar Nagar, Hingoli, Nashik, Ramtek and Maval

In Kalyan, Chief Minister Shinde’s son, Shrikant Shinde is the sitting MP, but the local unit of BJP wants to contest from the constituency. The BJP claims Kalyan is a traditional seat of the party which it had given to Shiv Sena in 2019 under pressure from Uddhav Thackeray. Union Minister Anurag Thakur had also conducted a review of the constituency and apprised the central leadership.

Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) is the sitting MP from the South Mumbai constituency and the Shinde faction is keen to contest on it because it is traditionally a Sena seat. Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar from the BJP has, however, also shown interest.

In Pune district’s Maval, Shrirang Barne from the Shinde Sena is the sitting MP.  But Ajit Pawar is keen on this seat as his son, Parth Pawar, had lost to Mr Barne in 2019.

Ratnagiri-Sindhadurg in the Konkan region is a Shiv Sena seat but Narayan Rane claimed it for the BJP last week in a post on X. Strongly opposing this, Ramdas Kadam of the Shinde Sena had asked whether the BJP wanted to eliminate every party and contest the Lok Sabha election alone. 

Shirur in Pune district has proven to be another point of friction. Amol Kolhe from the NCP (Sharadchanrd Pawar) is the sitting MP and the seat is now being claimed by the Ajit Pawar faction. The intent to beat Mr Kolhe has been announced by Mr Pawar himself, but former MP Shivaji Adhalrao Patil from Mr Shinde’s Shiv Sena is also keen on throwing his hat in the ring. 

Navneet Rana is the independent MP from Vidarbha’s Amravati and the BJP has offered the constituency to her to contest on its ticket. The Shinde Sena’s Anandrao Adsul, a former MP, has also claimed the seat. 

Sambhaji Nagar in Aurangabad is the lone seat won by the AIMIM in Maharashtra and Imtiaz Jaleel is the sitting MP. Though the constituency has been traditionally fought by the Shiv Sena, which plans to field Minister Sandeepan Bhumre, the BJP wants it for Union Minister of State for Finance, Bhagwat Karad.

A seat which is being eyed by all three members of the Mahayuti is Nashik. Hemant Godse from the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena is the sitting MP, but the NCP is keen on fielding someone from Minister Chhagan Bhujbal’s family and the BJP has also staked claim. 

In Aurangabad’s Hingoli, Sena’s Hemant Patil is the sitting MP and had offered to resign during the Maratha reservation protest. The BJP is also, however, interested in fielding its candidate.

Krupal Tumane of the Sena is the sitting MP from Ramtek in Nagpur seat but the local BJP cadre want the constituency for the party. They are, however, willing to settle for Mr Tumane fighting on a BJP ticket, sources said. 

Donald Trump won primary elections in Virginia and North Carolina, US networks predicted as results began to come in from the 15 “Super Tuesday” states in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The former president, who is bidding for a sensational comeback after being unseated by Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, is expected to claim a clean sweep of states Tuesday on the way to the nomination.

Trump thanked Virginia and North Carolina on his Truth Social site, as counts were underway in states across the country.

His longshot challenger, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, has failed to provide a significant obstacle in Trump’s path to the nomination, but has refused to drop out of the race.

Polling averages from RealClearPolitics show 77-year-old Trump 65 points clear in the primary, and two points ahead of President Joe Biden in a one-on-one match-up in the November election.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Amid the tug of war between Bengal Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the custody of Sandeshkhali strongman Sheikh Shahjahan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a meeting today at Barasat. Barasat is in the same North 24 Parganas district as Sandeshkhali, an island that has emerged as the biggest talking point in Bengal ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

The Prime Minister’s event is expected to be attended by some women from Sandeshkhali, which has made national headlines over allegations of sexual harassment, land grab and extortion against local Trinamool leaders led by Shahjahan. The BJP plans to get women from the island to the Prime Minister’s event as it slams the Trinamool government over women’s safety issues.

The Prime Minister’s visit to Bengal comes amid a face-off between the CBI and the state police over the custody of Shahjahan. Arrested after being on the run for 52 days, he has been expelled by the Mamata Banerjee-led party. He is currently with Bengal police, but the BJP has alleged that people of the island will not get any justice till he is grilled by the central agency.

The Calcutta High Court yesterday directed Bengal police to hand over Shahjahan’s custody to CBI, noting that “it has become imperative and absolutely necessary for doing complete justice and enforcing the fundamental rights of the public in general and the public of the locality that the cases be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation for investigation”.

Soon after, the Trinamool government approached the Supreme Court to challenge the high court order and sought an urgent hearing. The request for an urgent hearing was turned down, and the Bengal government was asked to mention its plea before the Registrar-General for a date, as per rules. The state government has told the Supreme Court that they were given sufficient time to seek legal remedy against the high court order. 

Bengal police, meanwhile, refused to hand over the strongman to a CBI team that had reached its office to take custody. The state police maintained that the matter is before the Supreme Court and the handover must take place only after a court ruling.

The BJP is leaving no stone unturned to keep the Sandeshkhali issue alive as it goes into the polls. For the party to achieve its target of winning 370 Lok Sabha seats, it must maximise its wins in Opposition-ruled states such as Bengal. And the serious allegations against Trinamool leaders have come as a great political opportunity for the BJP.

Besides setting the tone for the BJP’s political messaging ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Prime Minister will also be inaugurating several routes of Kolkata Metro. The highlight is the country’s first underwater Metro rail stretch – the train will pass under the surface of the Ganga river.