Maharashtra Elections: The Battle Beyond Alliances

Dilip Walse Patil suggests that the outcome of Maharashtra's November 20 assembly elections will hinge on individual party seat counts rather than alliance victories. With six parties involved, strategic calculations will shape the formation of the next government, underscoring the importance of each party's performance.

Dilip Walse Patil, NCP leader and Maharashtra minister, remarked on Thursday that political dynamics in Maharashtra could shift following the November 20 assembly elections. He emphasized that the number of seats secured by individual parties holds more significance than which alliance claims victory.

According to Patil, the real negotiations and calculations will commence post-results, given the involvement of six parties. This phase is critical before the establishment of the subsequent government.

The upcoming elections present a showdown between the ruling Mahayuti—comprising BJP, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's NCP—and the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes Congress, Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP), and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT). Patil, running in Ambegaon against Devdatta Nikam of NCP (SP), reiterated the importance of each party's seat tally in shaping Maharashtra's political landscape.

(With inputs from agencies.)