Decision on seat-sharing soon: Shinde after meeting Shah

Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, Union home minister Amit Shah has met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as well as Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Though details of the meeting, which took place on Tuesday night, were not known, CM Shinde later said the meet was positive and 'everything was going on smoothly'.

After the meeting, when reporters asked Shinde at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar airport about seat-sharing, the CM said, "The meeting was positive and a decision will be taken soon. Talks are moving ahead positively with co-ordination."

Senior BJP leader Amit Shah is on a two-day visit to Maharashtra from Tuesday.

The ruling Mahayuti partners -- Shiv Sena led by Shinde, BJP and the Ajit Pawar-headed Nationalist Congress Party -- have been holding discussions on seat-sharing for the state assembly polls, which are likely to be held in November.

Union ministers Amit Shah and Bhupender Yadav, CM Shinde and his deputy Fadnavis reached a hotel in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar for a meeting on Tuesday night.

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and NCP working president Praful Patel also reached the venue later and the meeting went on till around 12.30 am on Wednesday.
Shinde and his two deputies later left for the Chikalthana airport at around 12.45 am.

None of the leaders interacted with mediapersons at the hotel.

Shinde later said, "The meeting was positive and a decision will be taken soon. Talks are moving ahead positively with co-ordination."

Last week, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the Mahayuti alliance constituents have arrived at a consensus on contesting 70 to 80 per cent of the 288 seats for the assembly elections.

He hinted that winnability will be the criterion for distributing poll tickets.

In the current assembly, the BJP is the single largest party with 103 MLAs, followed by the Shiv Sena 40, the NCP 41, the Congress 40, the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray 15, the NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar 13 and others 29.

Some seats are vacant.