PM Modi joins BJP leaders at CEC meet to finalise candidates for Maharashtra elections

The BJP's Central Election Committee (CEC) met at the party headquarters in the national capital on Wednesday to select candidates and firm up strategy for the Maharashtra assembly elections as the party looks to balance the dynamics of its aspiration to maximise its share of seats while accommodating the demands of two powerful allies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh joined by other CEC members besides key BJP leaders from the state, including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the party's state unit president Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

The CEC discussed the seats that the BJP is particularly interested in contesting for the upcoming elections to the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly. According to BJP sources, the party is aiming to contest around 150 seats, with the remaining seats likely being allocated to its allies — the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit



Pawar-led NCP.

Earlier in the day, Bawankule said Shinde should be willing to make 'sacrifices' in terms of the seat-sharing arrangement for the assembly polls like the BJP has done to keep the alliance intact. "Chief Minister Eknath Shinde must remain open-minded and be willing to make sacrifices. We, too, have made sacrifices to uphold the alliance. It is evident that the BJP aims to contest the seats we previously held," Bawankule said.

Maharashtra will go to polls in a single phase on November 20 and the EC said the counting of votes will take place on November 23.

This time, the Maharashtra Assembly election is expected to witness a two-way fight between the ruling Mahayuti Alliance of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP,) Shiv Sena-Eknath Shinde and NCP-Ajit Pawar and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, of the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP - Sharad Pawar and the Congress. In 2019 the BJP, and undivided Sena, coalition came to power in the state.