Mahayuti Projects Unity, Jointly Announces Candidates For 17 Legislative Council Seats

Mumbai: In a bid to contain mounting dissent within the ruling coalition, senior Mahayuti leaders on Wednesday jointly announced the alliance’s official candidates for the 17 Legislative Council seats. Leaders of all three constituents — the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP — appealed to voters to support only the alliance nominees and expressed confidence of securing all 17 seats.

The leaders also voiced hope that rebel candidates from the three parties would withdraw their nominations before the deadline. The alliance has been grappling with internal dissent and seat-sharing tensions ahead of the Legislative Council elections scheduled for June 18.

Representing their respective parties, Ravindra Chavan (BJP), Sunil Tatkare (NCP) and Rahul Shewale (Shiv Sena) projected a united front. They said the seat-sharing formula had been finalised with complete consensus among the coalition’s top leadership. Under the arrangement, the BJP will contest 11 seats, while the Shiv Sena and NCP will field candidates in four and two seats, respectively.

The briefing largely focused on addressing visible unrest within the coalition, triggered by a spate of rebel nominations and public disagreements over ticket distribution. Alliance leaders said they were confident that dissidents would heed the directives of the party leadership and withdraw from the fray before the nomination deadline.

Mr. Tatkare and Mr. Shewale said the leadership had taken serious note of the public outbursts and rebel candidatures, adding that efforts were underway to discipline dissenters and resolve internal differences.

“The division of seats and selection of candidates was done collectively and with complete consensus. It has the full backing of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. There is no rift,” Mr. Chavan said.

Mr. Tatkare dismissed reports of friction within the alliance over seat-sharing. “Rumours of major disputes or differences among the allies are completely baseless. Leaders of all three parties were involved throughout the candidate selection process. We stand united,” he said.

Mr. Shewale said the alliance partners were taking steps to address internal concerns and ensure coordination at the grassroots level. “The Mahayuti is entering this election fully prepared. We are confident of winning all 17 Legislative Council seats,” he said.