Last Updated: March 19, 2024, 00:01 IST
MNS president Raj Thackeray speaks to the media, at party office in Thane. (PTI file photo)
Thackeray is scheduled to meet Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda tonight, fuelling speculations for a possible alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the elections
With weeks to go for polling to begin for the Lok Sabha election, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray arrived in the national capital on Monday night.
He is scheduled to meet Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda, fuelling speculations for a possible alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the elections.
The NDA is yet to announce a seat-sharing deal. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, and Republican Party of India (A) is the BJP-led alliance in the state.
The LS polls in Maharashtra, which elects 48 MPs, will be held in five phases between April 19 and May 20.
The BJP had won 23 of the 25 seats it had contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while its then alliance partner — undivided Shiv Sena — won 18 of the 23 seats it had contested. The undivided NCP, as part of the opposition alliance, had contested 19 seats and managed to win four.
Meanwhile, Union minister Ramdas Athawale has that his Republican Party of India (A) is hopeful of getting two seats for Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra but won’t leave the NDA if that doesn’t happen.
NDA’s rival Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is likely to announce candidates for Lok Sabha elections this week. The Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar are part of the MVA.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could win a sweeping 41 out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, while the opposition INDIA bloc may bag seven seats, News18’s Mega Opinion Poll has predicted.
According to the survey, the NDA will win with a vote share of 48 per cent while the INDIA bloc may secure a 34 per cent vote share.
The survey from February 12 to March 1 covered 21 major states of India that account for 95% of all Lok Sabha constituencies, making it one of the largest surveys in the country.