Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 30 : BJP MLC Pravin Darekar on Tuesday met Republican Party of India (Athawale) chief and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale at the latter's residence in Mumbai's Bandra, amid discontent within the Mahayuti alliance over seat-sharing for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
The meeting took place after Ramdas Athawale, earlier in the day, expressed displeasure with the seat-sharing allocations in the Mahayuti for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections.
Speaking after the meeting, Athawale said Darekar conveyed a message from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who had spoken to him earlier in the morning. Athawale added that the list of 39 candidates earlier submitted by RPI (A) had already completed and submitted their nomination forms.
"Pravin Darekar came and said that he understands our displeasure... The CM also called me this morning, and Pravin Darekar came with his message. He said that of the list of 39 people we had released, those 39 people have filled out the forms... We told Pravin Athawale said he had asked Darekar to arrange a meeting with Fadnavis on Wednesday morning to resolve the issue and seek a fair allocation of seats for his party," he said.
He also indicated that he was open to discussions with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, suggesting that some seats could be accommodated from Shiv Sena's quota if an agreement was reached.
"We also said that if we meet with DY CM Eknath Shinde, and if some seats can be allocated from his quota, then that can be considered," he said.
He added that the party would decide its future course of action after discussions with the Chief Minister, signalling that the seat-sharing issue remains unresolved within the alliance.
"If we have to move forward together, then a decision has to be made. Even if we got six or seven seats, there wouldn't have been any problem. But the seats you allocated were seats that we hadn't even asked for. That's why we had a discussion today, and after talking with the CM, we will decide on the strategy for what to do next," Athawale added.
Earlier in the day, Ramdas Athawale accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of sidelining his party during seat-sharing talks for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Highlighting the RPI's political strength in Mumbai, Athawale said the reunion of the BJP and Shiv Sena had adversely affected his party's chances, adding that the RPI was not even included in seat-sharing discussions. He claimed that the party was informed very late that it had been allotted just six seats.
"The coming together of the BJP and Shiv Sena created a problem in giving tickets to RPI. The Republican Party is a very strong party in Mumbai... But the BJP has ignored us... We were not called even once during the discussions. If the RPI had been called to the BJP-Shiv Sena discussions, some seats could have been allocated to us... Last night at 2 am, we were told that six seats had been given to us," Athawale told ANI.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the Mahayuti finalised its seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. The BJP will contest 137 seats, while the Shiv Sena will field candidates in 90.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission announced elections to 29 municipal corporations across the state, including Mumbai, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Polling for Mumbai's 227 wards will be held on January 15, with vote counting scheduled for January 16.