Late in the evening on February 26, senior leaders and MPs of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction went into a huddle at Varsha, the chief minister’s official residence atop Malabar Hill. They were there to discuss how their party could have the final say in the seat-sharing talks of the saffron grand alliance ahead of Lok Sabha elections. They told Shinde that the party must insist on 18 of the 48 seats. “As we are the official Shiv Sena, we must get what we got last time, 22 seats,” said one of the leaders. “But if the BJP is too adamant, we should not settle for anything less than 18.” The united Sena had won 18 seats in the 2019 elections; of these, 13 went with the Shinde faction, while five remained loyal to Uddhav Thackeray.
The Shinde faction, it is learnt, wants to stake claim on the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg and Mumbai South seats, currently held by Uddhav loyalists Vinayak Raut and Arvind Sawant. Sena (Shinde) strongman Kiran Samant, elder brother of Minister Uday Samant, is keen to contest in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg. His hoardings are up in many places across the constituency. The BJP, though, wants Union Minister Narayan Rane to contest from this seat; he was not given a second term in the Rajya Sabha for this reason. Rane himself, however, does not want to contest as he feels age and health are not his allies. However, bowing to the party’s wishes, he had met and requested Shinde to give up his claim on the seat.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
