Small parties in Maharashtra look forward to more seats in upcoming Assembly elections

Mumbai: While the Shiv Sena and the BJP are yet to agree on the seat sharing formula for the state Assembly constituencies, smaller parties from their alliance have demanded more than 50 seats.

Shetkari Swabhimani Sanghatana (SSS), RPI, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) and Shiv Sangram have together given a list of 162 constituencies out of the 288 that they want to contest. However, state BJP president Devendra Fadnavis said that an agreement will be reached before August 5 and the Mahayuti (grand alliance) will remain intact. According to a source, the Sena-BJP combine may share not more than 30 seats to the allies.

In a joint meeting of the alliance leaders on Monday, party leaders discussed the strength of each party in 288 Assembly constituencies.

According to a source, the SSS likely to contest 64 seats, even though it has submitted a list of 40 constituencies. The RSP submitted a list of 59 seats, while the RPI has submitted a list of 40 constituencies to Mr Fadnavis.