From seat-sharing to resolving differences among party workers, allies – the many problems that confront Maharashtra Dy CM Fadnavis

The BJP was keen on fielding Rajya Sabha MP Udayan Raje Bhosale from the Satara Lok Sabha seat. But the Ajit Pawar-led NCP demanded that the Satara seat be given to them.

According to reports, the BJP is now trying to persuade Bhosale to contest from the seat as an NCP candidate.

Fadnavis held a long meeting with Bhosale on Wednesday night and the latter is learnt to have sought time to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

A highly placed source in the BJP said, “With the NCP insisting on Satara, we will have to find a middle path. We may concede the Satara seat to the Ajit Pawar faction provided Udayan Raje Bhosale agrees to contest on the NCP’s clock symbol.”

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Udayan Raje Bhosale contested as an undivided NCP candidate and won the Satara Lok Sabha seat. But ahead of state assembly polls held in October-November 2019, he quit the NCP to join the BJP. He resigned as Lok Sabha MP and was defeated by NCP’s Shriniwas Patil in the by-polls held later.

A descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Udayan Raje Bhosale has always chalked an independent path. The BJP reckons it cannot antagonise him, especially in Satara.

On the other hand, the saffron party will also have to accommodate the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in key constituencies to give it enough strength and visibility to outsmart the rival NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar.

The Madha Lok Sabha seat is also turning out to be a sticking point for the BJP. Although it has already declared sitting MP Ranjit Naik Nimbalkar as the candidate, the anti-Nimbalkar faction within the party has struck a different note. Senior leader Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, who allegedly wanted his nephew Dhairyasheel Patil as the party’s Madha candidate, has spoken out against the decision. Thereafter, Fadnavis held a meeting with Nimbalkar and Mohite to broker peace.

A senior BJP leader present in the meeting said, “Fadnavis categorically told them to end the dispute and to look at the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as a crucial election for Viksit Bharat 2047. Fadnavis has reassured that as far as individual aspirations and issues are concerned, they will be looked at and addressed and everybody will get their due at an appropriate time.”

According to a BJP general secretary, “The conflict within the BJP or alliance partners during seat sharing is nothing new. With aspirants outnumbering seats, such jostling for seats and candidates is but natural. Such situations necessitate Fadnavis’s intervention. In some cases, the matter is referred to Delhi.”

In the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, where Ajit Pawar’s NCP has fielded Sunetra Pawar, sources said senior BJP leader Harshvardhan Patil had some misgivings. In their long political career spanning decades, Harshvardhan Patil and Ajit Pawar have been rivals for the most part. Harshvardhan Patil had in the past represented the Indapur assembly seat that comes under the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency. With the Baramati Lok Sabha seat becoming a high-pitched prestigious battle this time between Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar and sitting MP-cum- Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, the BJP wants to ensure all support to its ally Ajit Pawar.

A source said that Fadnavis has categorically told Harshvardhan Patil to set aside all previous bitterness with Ajit Pawar and work as a team.

State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “The BJP will treat all 48 seats as its own and provide full support to our allies. We have given clear instructions to our karyakartas not to make any distinction. Wherever we have a BJP candidate, it is our responsibility. But wherever we have a Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) or NCP Ajit Pawar faction candidate, it is also equally our responsibility. We will work as a team.”

Meanwhile, Fadnavis along with Bawankule has embarked on a constituency-wise visit to oversee organisational preparation for the Lok Sabha polls. In the first phase of elections to be held on April 19, five Maharashtra seats will go to the polls – Nagpur, Ramtek, Bhandara-Gondia, Chandrapur, and Gadchiroli.