Mahayuti needs to accommodate Dalits, minorities to win assembly polls, says Ramdas Athawale
Mumbai, Jun 22: Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Saturday advised the ruling ‘Mahayuti’ alliance in Maharashtra to accommodate Dalits and minorities to win the assembly elections.
Talking to reporters here, Athawale said his Republican Party of India (Athawale) would seek eight to ten seats for the state polls due in October. Maharashtra has 288 assembly seats.
The ruling alliance comprises the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and NCP headed by Ajit Pawar.
“We also want one MLC seat in the biennial elections to the legislative council scheduled next month,” he said.
In the proposed cabinet expansion in the state, RPI (A) should get a ministerial berth, the Dalit leader said.
Athawale said Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had assured him that his demands would be considered. “I hope he seriously considers our demands,” he said.
Athawale, who was retained as a minister of state in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said he expected a Cabinet berth, but many other allies also needed to be accommodated.
“Being a minister at the Centre for the last eight years, I have been able to expand my party elsewhere in the country,” he said.
Athawale said he wanted his party to contest from Shirdi and Solapur in the Lok Sabha polls but the BJP did not consider their request.
“We (BJP-led NDA) expected 40 seats (in Maharashtra) but got 17 in the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
He said the opposition's narrative that the BJP would change the Constitution if it got over 400 seats misled Dalit voters, referring to the NDA’s subpar performance in the general elections.
There is not much difference between the vote shares of the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and Mahayuti, he said.
“Dalits and minorities need to be brought into the fold of Mahayuti to win assembly polls. I will put this point in the meeting of Mahayuti leaders,” he said, stressing that the ruling alliance can win the polls if there is unity.
He said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar had the backing of most MLAs, hence the Election Commission ruled their groups as real Shiv Sena and NCP, respectively.
Maratha and OBC quotas, which are currently under the spotlight, are important issues, said the RPI (A) head, adding that Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange should be invited to the all-party meeting next week.
He also rued that his efforts for Dalit unity had not succeeded. “If Prakash Ambedkar of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) agrees, I am ready to work under him,” he said.
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BJP will form govt in Bengal with thumping majority: Nabin
Mirzapur (UP) (PTI): BJP president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday voiced confidence that his party will form the government in West Bengal with a "thumping majority".
Polling is underway for 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, covering key districts, including Kolkata, Howrah and North and South 24 Parganas.
The high-stakes contest is being seen as decisive for the ruling TMC's bid for a fourth consecutive term and the BJP's push to form its first government in the state. The first phase held on April 23 recorded a high voter turnout of over 93 per cent, reflecting intense electoral engagement.
Speaking to reporters in Mirzapur, Nabin said, "The BJP will form the government in Bengal. We are winning the elections with a massive majority."
Earlier in the day, the BJP chief visited the Vindhyavasini temple and offered prayers. The rituals were conducted by his priest Acharya Agastya Kumar Dwivedi.
On his first visit to the district after assuming office, Nabin was welcomed by party workers at several places. At the temple, he was received by city MLA Ratnakar Mishra and District Magistrate Pawan Kumar Gangwar, who felicitated him with a traditional 'angvastram'.
After offering prayers for about 10 minutes amid Vedic chants, Nabin held a meeting at a hotel with local MLAs, including Mishra, Majhwan MLA Suchismita Maurya and Madihan MLA Ramashankar Patel.
Patel said Nabin emphasised strengthening the organisation and asked public representatives to focus on serving people in their respective constituencies.
Several party leaders, including district president Lal Bahadur Saroj, district vice-president Gaurav Umar, municipal chairperson Shyam Sundar Kesari, women workers and senior officials, were present on the occasion.
Elaborate security arrangements were put in place by the district administration for the visit, with multiple officers of circle officer rank deployed, officials said.
