The political landscape of Maharashtra has taken a new turn, with reports indicating that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is attempting to negotiate ministerial slots for Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena in the upcoming cabinet. After the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections are announced, CM Shinde is reportedly requesting two ministries for his party.
According to reports, the Shiv Sena group under Eknath Shinde is becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the Maharashtra branch of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership. Only months before the state assembly elections, there is already division, which is exacerbated by the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis citing responsibility for the BJP's poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections. Fadnavis stated that he wanted to focus on his legislative responsibilities in the Maharashtra Assembly when he submitted his resignation yesterday.
Leaders of the CM Shinde camp are not happy with the BJP's meddling in the choice of candidates for Lok Sabha constituencies including Mumbai South, Nashik, Hingoli, and Yavatmal. Announcements were allegedly delayed because the leaders said that the BJP either forced its candidates or challenged/contested these seats.
They also said that the Shiv Sena-led by Shinde has performed better in the state than the BJP, and they called for CM Shinde to lead the state elections without including the BJP. To debate cabinet seats in the midst of these difficulties, Eknath Shinde called a meeting of his party's MPs on June 6 at the Varsha residence in Mumbai.
In Maharashtra, the dominant Shiv Sena side, led by CM Shinde, won seven of the 15 Lok Sabha seats it ran for, including Thane, a stronghold for CM Shinde. However, the opposing Shiv Sena (UBT) won two significant constituencies in Mumbai. As the next assembly elections will decide whether the group is acknowledged as the 'real' Shiv Sena after the party split in 2022, CM Shinde's performance will be crucial. Six constituencies—Thane, Kalyan, Hatkanangale, Buldhana, Aurangabad, and Maval—saw the Shinde-led Sena emerge victorious out of the fifteen seats contested. In 13 of those seats, the Shiv Sena (UBT) was the direct opponent. The party did, however, win Mumbai North West by a slim margin of 48 votes, although it lost Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central.
In 2019, the Shiv Sena, which remained united, ran for 23 Lok Sabha seats alongside the BJP and secured 18 of them. The Shinde-led group fought only 15 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls after the separation because of disagreements with Ajit Pawar's NCP and BJP, alliance partners.
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