NCP faces hard-bargain from Mahayuti allies as it struggles to secure council seats | Mumbai News
2 min readMumbaiUpdated: May 24, 2026 10:14 PM IST
The ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is negotiating at least three legislative council seats, of 17 which will go for polls on June 18, where legislators will be elected from the members of local bodies. However, it is faced with hard bargaining from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena.
The NCP has staked claim on seats to be elected from Pune, Hingoli-Parbhani and Raigad- Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg. Sources within the Mahayuti said that the formula of 12 (BJP), 3 (Sena) and 2 (NCP) is being tabled for discussion at present.
According to party sources, the BJP and Sena too have expressed interest in contesting from Pune and Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg which has led to discontent within the party. Anil Bhosle and Aniket Tatkare, both from the NCP, represented these seats respectively. The party maintains that it is the biggest party in Parbhani-Hingoli.
Agriculture minister Dattatraya Bharane said that the NCP has a larger number of voters in Pune. “We are contesting this election as Mahayuti. We will make appropriate decisions about seat sharing. In Pune, we will abide by the decision to be taken by Sunetra Pawar. We feel that we have our right to contest this as we have a larger number of voters here,” said Bharne.
The NCP had also held Ahilyanagar seat which is up for polls, and party leaders insist that if other two parties are hellbent on holding on to the seats previously won, then Ahilyanagar should also be given to the NCP. The BJP has staked claim on it at present, citing a higher number of local body members.
“It is time the party leadership steps in and strongly demands seats for the party. A message needs to be sent that the NCP leadership will not be compromised,” said a senior party leader.
“Neither we (NCP) nor Sena has accepted it as of now,” a senior NCP leader said. “It is important that the party leadership unitedly discusses this issue with other two members of Mahayuti and ensures that the NCP is not at loss after bargaining,” he said.
