Mahayuti will win 45 seats in Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra: CM Eknath Shinde

Eknath Shinde. File pic

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the Mahayuti alliance has resolved to win 45 seats in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Mahayuti consists of BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction).

Shinde asserted that Maharashtra will support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to make India a top economy by electing 45 MPs. Notably, Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, second highest in the country, after Uttar Pradesh's 80.

BJP on Saturday has released its first list of candidates for 2024 Lok Sabha elections, however the list does not include any candidate nomination from Maharashtra. Reportedly, BJP is expected release its second list on March 8.

In Maharashtra, Mahayuti has also not released any list for Lok Sabha candidates, however the political atmosphere is heated amid talks of seat-sharing. NCP leader and minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunday said that the party (Ajit Pawar faction) has asked for 10 seats for upcoming Lok Sabha elections, while a Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) leader said that the party expects 18 seats.

CM Eknath Shinde, recently in the Shiv Sena convention held at Kolhapur told the Shiv Sena workers to work in co-ordination in every block of Maharashtra and ensure that Mahayuti wins 45 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Shinde on Sunday reiterated his resolve for Mahayuti to win 45 seats in the state. He was addressing the crowd during 'shashan aplya dari' (government at your doorstep) event in Thane district's Dombivali. He said that government's initiative has reached crores of people in Maharashtra, including 121 irrigation projects. CM Shinde also highlighted that his government has granted reservation to the Maratha community.

Shinde also inaugurated several projects in Kalyan-Dombivali, including a new fish market in Dombivali, a cancer-cum-maternity hospital and an auditorium. He laid the foundation stone for Kalyan-Taloja Metro line 12 project. Kalyan is the Lok Sabha constituency of his son, Dr Shrikant Shinde.

MMRDA on Sunday announced that they have floated a tender for the extension of Mumbai Metro Line 12 (Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan) to Navi Mumbai's Taloja area. With a total length of 22.173 km and 19 stations, the extension project is expected to be completed by October 2025, at an estimated cost of Rs 5,865 crore.