A day after claiming 22 of the state's 48 Lok Sabha seats, voices inside the Shiv Sena, led by CM Eknath Shinde, began to complain about the BJP's "step-motherly" behaviour despite the fact that their party is now a member of the NDA.
Sena's MP Gajanan Kirtikar claimed that they were being unfairly treated and that Sena had a legitimate claim to the 22 seats it had run for in 2019. Deepak Kesarkar, Kirtikar's coworker, concurred. By emphasising the long-standing relations between the Sena and the BJP, Shinde attempted to diffuse the situation. "The elections will go smoothly, there is still time. Everyone shouldn't be concerned,” he said.
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis also sounded placatory. “There is complete cohesion and understanding between the two parties. The distribution of seats will take place at an appropriate time,” Fadnavis said in Ahmednagar.
Minister Deepak Kesarkar, also from Sena, said his party expects the old formula of seat sharing between Sena and BJP would continue. “Based on that formula, BJP gets some extra seats in the Lok Sabha, and Sena gets more assembly seats. We have already started preparations on seats that usually come our way,” he said. In the state, 41 of 48 seats were won by the BJP-united Shiv Sena combine in 2019.
Mumbai north-west MP Gajanan Kirtikar of Sena said: “Earlier, we were not a constituent party of NDA. Now, being apart of NDA, our work should be done. It is our demand that we should be given constituent party status. We are being unfairly treated by the BJP.”
In a softer tone, he added: “We have no problem. Both Shiv Sena and BJP are working in coordination. We will say that everything is settled between us. Thirteen MPs have come with Eknath Shinde and are a constituent party of NDA.”