Mumbai:

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should be willing to make “sacrifices”, in terms of seat-sharing for the assembly polls, like the BJP has done to keep the alliance intact.

The comments come a day after the Election Commission announced the schedule for polls to 288 seats in the state assembly.

Voting is scheduled on November 20 and the counting will take place on November 23.

“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,” Mr Bawankule told ABP Majha news channel in Nagpur.

As the dominant party in the alliance, it is only natural for the BJP to seek more seats, he said.

Read | On Seat Sharing, Maharashtra’s Ruling Alliance Nears Finishing Line: Sources

Asked if Union Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly stated that the BJP “sacrificed” the Chief Minister’s post while forging an alliance with Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Mr Bawankule said, “I do not know what Union minister Amit Shah said to Shinde. It is true that the chief minister holds the highest position and represents the government.”

He said they have urged Mr Shinde that as the larger party, BJP should have a bigger share for contesting seats. It is impossible to measure who made greater “sacrifices”, the BJP leader said.

“As the chief minister, he could have expected more seats to contest in the assembly polls. However, it is not feasible to enter the elections with tension within the alliance. Our stance is that we should be able to contest the seats we have previously won,” Bawankule said.

There is no point in demanding more seats to contest for the sake of numbers, he said.

Asked about the agenda of BJP leaders’ meeting in New Delhi scheduled on Wednesday, Mr Bawankule said, “We will discuss the candidates and the seats we want to contest. There are some seats that we lost by a thin margin in the 2019 assembly elections.”

Read | Shivaji, 2022 Coup In Key Sena vs Sena Rallies Ahead Of Maharashtra Polls

There will not be any discussion on the seats won by the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-headed NCP in today’s meeting, he said.

The BJP has conducted a detailed survey for Maharashtra and based on it, the discussion will take place in Delhi, he added.

On the possibility of swapping some seats with the alliance partners, Mr Bawankule said, “We may consider swapping a few seats with Shiv Sena. Additionally, there are strong candidates from both BJP and NCP, as the NCP contested against us in the 2019 assembly polls. We need more time to take a final decision in this matter.”

Mr Bawankule, who is a member of the state legislative council, also said he would not seek a ticket from the party.

“I won the Kamthi assembly seat in 2014 but the party asked me not to contest the 2019 polls. I have been working as the BJP state president since some time. The party will take a final decision on whether I should contest the election or not. The BJP will win the Kamthi seat irrespective of the candidate,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Nagpur:

A luxury car owned by Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s son Sanket Bawankule hit several vehicles on Monday morning in Nagpur’s Ramdaspeth area, after which two of its occupants, including the driver, were arrested. 

There were five persons in the car at the time of the accident, but three of them, including Sanket Bawankule, had fled. All were coming from a beer bar, sources have said. The blood samples of the driver and the arrested occupant have been sent for test, sources said.

Around 1 am, the Audi car first collided with complainant Jitendra Sonkamble’s car and then with a moped, leaving two young people riding it injured.

“The Audi car struck some more vehicles moving towards Mankapur area. At T-Point there, the vehicle hit a Polo car. Its occupants chased the Audi and stopped it near Mankapur bridge. Three occupants, including Sanket Bawankule, fled,” news agency Press Trust of India quoted an un-named officer from the Sitabuldi police station as saying. 

“The car’s driver, Arjun Hawre, and one more occupant, Ronit Chittamwar, were stopped by the occupants of the Polo car. They were taken to Tehsil police station, from where they were handed over for further probe to Sitabuldi police,” he said.

“A case of rash driving and other offences was registered on the complaint of Mr Sonkamble. Arjun Hawre and Ronit Chittamwar were later released on bail. Further probe is in progress,” the officer from Sitabuldi police station added, reported PTI.

Speaking to reporters about the incident, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhr Bawankule admitted the Audi car was registered in the name of his son Sanket.

“Police should conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the accident without any bias. Those found guilty should be charged and appropriate action should be taken against them. I have not spoken to any police officer. The law must be equal for all,” the senior BJP leader was quoted as saying.

(With PTI) 

Mumbai:

Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Sunday attacked Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and warned that several instances of corruption under the latter’s regime are ready to be unearthed.

Mr Thackeray had called the BJP as “Bhrashta Janata Party” and said it was continuously inducting tainted persons for political gains.

“If Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis makes movies on corrupt practices of the previous Uddhav Thackeray government, then they would be called Khichdi Files, COVID Body Bag Files, Waze or Laden Files. The script for Rs 100 Crore Recovery Files is ready,” Mr Bawankule said.

The BJP accuses the Shiv Sena (UBT) of involvement in alleged irregularities in the distribution of ‘khichdi’ during the pandemic, purchase of body bags for COVID victims as well as taking commission to award contracts.

“Instead of making sarcastic remarks, Thackeray should think about how he functioned from home when he was chief minister for two-and-half years. No matter how many sarcastic comments you make, the people of Maharashtra will give you a befitting reply,” Mr Bawankule said.

On Mr Thackeray’s charge that BJP leaders were ignoring strife-torn Manipur, the ruling party’s Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar said, “Uddhav Thackeray talks about Manipur. I am ready to pay the transportation cost for Thackeray if he is prepared to visit Malvani area in Mumbai and raise his voice against atrocities on some of our brothers.”

Mr Thackeray is the only leader in Maharashtra who never stood on his feet in politics, Mr Shelar claimed.

Hitting back at the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief’s corruption charge, Mr Shelar said Mr Thackeray’s statement was a classic case of double standards.

“When people were with him, they were clean. But the moment those people switched to the BJP, Thackeray started calling them corrupt. It seems he is changing the bar or parameters to decide who is corrupt and who is not.” 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)