Headache for BJP across State, result of Maha Yuti alliance

Mumbai: The Maha Yuti came to power after splitting the Shiv Sena. Later, the NCP broke. Thus, the BJP, the Shiv Sena (BT) led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the NCP (AP) led by DyCM Ajit Pawar contested the Lok Sabha polls as the Maha Yuti.

On the other hand, the opposition parties, including the Congress, the NCP (SP) and the Shiv Sena (UBT), aligned to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). However, the Maha Yuti suffered a big setback in the elections.

Experts said that the picture would not be different in the State Assembly elections. In June 2022, the BJP, along with the Shiv Sena (BT), came to power. Later, the NCP (AP) joined after a year. The erstwhile rivals united to share power but they are now finding it difficult to contest elections together. This is resulting in defections from the Maha Yuti to the MVA.

Samarjeetsinh Ghatge from the Kagal Assembly segment in Kolhapur district is likely to join the NCP (SP). The Maha Yuti is most likely to offer the candidature to State Minister Hasan Mushrif from Kagal. Similarly, incumbent MLA Datta Bharne from Indapur may be fielded from his constituency in Pune district. BJP State Minister and BJP leader Harshvardhan Patil also wants to contest from the segment. Only one of them will get the candidature, resulting in a likely exit of another.

In Latur district, former MLA and BJP leader Sudhakar Bhalerao has defected to the NCP (SP) after realising that Udgir MLA and State Minister Sanjay Bansode would get the party ticket. Former BJP MLA from Ramtek Mallikarjun Reddy may rebel if Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Ashish Jaiswal gets the candidature from the Maha Yuti. These are some examples of what is in store for the ruling alliance in the State.