Three parties quit MahaYuti alliance over seat allocation

SSS, RSP and Shiv Sangram say the seven seats offered to them are inadequate and they will jointly contest all the 288 Assembly seats

Even as the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are yet to arrive at a consensus on seat sharing between them, three of their erstwhile poll allies - Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS), Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP), and Shiv Sangram - have decided to quit the MahaYuti (grand alliance). They say the seven seats offered to them are inadequate and they will jointly contest all the 288 Assembly seats.

However, one of the MahaYuti allies, Republican Party of India (RPI), decided to go with Shiv Sena-BJP. Had RPI walked out of the MahaYuti, its president Ramdas Athavale, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from the BJP quota, might have had to resign.

The leaders of SSS, RSP and Shiv Sangram had walked out of a meeting with the Shiv Sena and BJP in a suburban five star hotel late Tuesday night, after the two major parties expressed their inability to give more seats. SSS founder and member of Parliament Raju Shetty reminded the two saffron parties that the alliance partners’ active participation was key to the victory of Shiv Sena and BJP candidates in the Lok Sabha election.

“Do not underestimate us. How can you offer such a less number of seats, after keeping us engaged in talks for the past two and a half months? If seats are not increased, we are free to quit MahaYuti and it will not be a healthy sign for Shiv Sena and BJP,” Shetty warned. Shiv Sena and BJP leaders, including Sanjay Raut and Vinod Tawde, had requested Shetty, RSP chief Mahadev Jankar and Shiv Sangram founder Vinayak Mete not to take any decision in haste. The three leaders were also requested to meet again on Wednesday morning.

Accordingly, the latter waited till Wednesday morning. As they did not get any positive indication from either the Shiv Sena or the BJP, they held a meeting and SSS leader Sadabhau Khot, who was defeated by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) stalwart Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil in Madha constituency in the general election, announced the three parties have decided to call it a day.

Khot blasted both the Shiv Sena and the BJP for the ‘insult’ and ‘backstabbing’. “We offer an unconditional apology to the citizens of Maharashtra. We had joined Shiv Sena-BJP in a bid to dislodge the corrupt Congress-NCP government. However, Shiv Sena and BJP ditched us and, therefore, we have decided to quit the alliance and fight all 288 seats. The list of the three parties will be announced by this evening as the filing of nominations ends of September 27.”

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena, which has offered 130 seats to the BJP, tweaking its last formula of 151:119, asked the latter to give more seats to SSS, RSP and Shiv Sangram.

Notably, the BJP had explored the option of parting ways with the Shiv Sena and contest all 288 seats along with RPI, SSS, RSP and Shiv Sangrama. A BJP leader, who did not wish to be named, told Business Standard: “Under this formula, the BJP will contest 233 seats, and 55 by RPI, SSS, RSP and Shiv Sangram.”