Lok Sabha polls: Eknath Shinde camp fears BJP eyeing its seats

Leaders of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena are upset about ally BJP's attempts to field its candidates in some of the Lok Sabha seats where the united Sena had contested in the last parliamentary elections.

The BJP is keen to contest more than the 25 seats where the party had its candidates in 2019. This has led to some Shiv Sena leaders openly asking whether the BJP would like to remain the only party contesting the polls. "They are claiming that they would fight from Raigad now, they are claiming the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat; this cannot happen," said Ramdas Kadam, a Shiv Sena (Shinde) leader. "The Ratnagiri seat belongs to the Shiv Sena. Does the BJP want to finish off all the parties and contest the polls? Under no circumstances we would leave the Ratnagiri seat," he said.

Kadam's comment came after union minister Narayan Rane staked the BJP's claim over the Ratnagiri seat, as his son Nilesh Rane is likely to be a claimant for it. The Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat is currently represented by Vinayak Raut of the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Sena.


According to some Shiv Sena leaders, the BJP has been staking claim over not just these two, but several Shiv Sena seats.