Give us 4 LS, 35 Assembly seats: RPI
RPI leader Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday demanded that Shiv Sena and BJP give four Lok Sabha and 30-35 state Assembly seats to his party. Mr Athawale, who is embarking on a state-wide tour, said that the leaders of the three parties should meet at the earliest to discuss the seat-sharing formula.
Mr Athawale’s RPI is a partner in the mega-alliance of Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI, which came into being about two years ago after the late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray mooted the idea of Shiv Shakti-Bhim Shakti. “We have taken the risk of joining the Sena-BJP combine on the insistence of late Sena supremo Bal Thackeray,” he said.
“Therefore, giving us respect, Shiv Sena and BJP should allot at least 3-4 seats to the RPI in the Lok Sabha elections and around 35 seats in the Assembly elections. If it does not happen, it would become difficult for them to come to power,” Mr Athawale added.
Just like the Shiv Sena is putting pressure on the BJP to convene a meeting of NDA allies at the earliest to decide the prime ministerial candidate, the RPI leader also wants the Sena to hold a meeting at the earliest to decide their strategy for Maharashtra.
“The decisions on seat-sharing and election strategy should be taken as soon as possible. It will only benefit the mahayuti (grand alliance),” Mr Athawale said.
When asked whether his demand for four Lok Sabha seats and 35 state assembly seats if final, Mr Athawale said that there could be some change once all three parties sat together.
To prepare for the elections, Mr Athawale will be undertaking a statewide tour from May 1 to June 1. “The state is facing unprecedented drought. People do not have water to drink. I will be holding rallies in various cities to highlight the inactiveness of the state government, irregularities in the irrigation department, atrocities on Dalits, corruption, load-shedding etc,” he said.
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