BJP ally Ramdas Athawale wants 2 seats for his RPI(A) to contest in Lok Sabha polls next year

New Delhi: Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday demanded two seats for his Republican Party of India (A) to contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Athawale, whose party is a constituent in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), also said he wants to contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Shirdi seat in Maharashtra.

In an interview to PTI-Bhasha, the RPI(A) leader said he would talk to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard, if required.

Athawale also said any controversy on the issue of Maratha reservation is not right and his party believes that a quota can be given to the community in Maharashtra by creating a separate category on the lines of Tamil Nadu.

'My party is of the opinion that the poor people in the Maratha community should get justice but while doing so, the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) should not be harmed,' he said.

The Union minister said Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) leader Chhagan Bhujbal has also said the Maratha community should get reservation but it should not be given by cutting the share of the OBCs.

'If reservation is to be given to the Maratha community in Maharashtra, then it can be done by creating a category, as has been created in Tamil Nadu. The poor people in the Maratha community should get justice, but the OBCs should not suffer either,' he said.

Asked about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' comment that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would contest the Lok Sabha polls from 26 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra and later retracting from his statement and saying that the issue would be decided after holding talks with the alliance partners, Athawale asserted that there is no tension in the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP coalition in Maharashtra.

He said the relations between Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Fadnavis and Pawar are 'very good'.

Athawale said as far as the RPI(A) is concerned, it has been with the BJP since the 2012 Brihanmumbai Municipal election and his party should get two seats in the Lok Sabha polls.

'I had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha election from Shirdi, but was defeated. I wish to contest the next Lok Sabha polls from Shirdi,' he said.

Athawale said he has spoken to BJP president J P Nadda about this and will also talk to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and even Prime Minister Modi when the time comes.

In response to a question on recent statements of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and some others regarding a nationwide caste survey, Athawale said, 'It is my party's demand that the enumeration of the members of all castes should be done so that the percentage of each caste is known and they get benefits accordingly.' Targeting Gandhi, he asked why such a caste census was not conducted when the Congress was in power for 60 years and wondered what would he do now when his party is no longer in power at the Centre.

'Our party says let the caste survey and census be done and let the percentage of all castes be known. If there is any dispute on this, then reservation should be given according to the percentage of the castes,' Athawale said.

Replying to a question, he said the NDA is contesting the Assembly polls in five states under Modi's leadership and on the issues of development, poverty alleviation and economic progress of the country, with a resolve to ensure social and economic justice to the members of all castes and religions.

The Union minister said of the five states, the BJP's victory is 'certain' in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

Replying to a question on the prospects of the INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha polls, he said in democracy, everyone has the right to try and win elections, but claimed that each party in the opposition alliance has a prime ministerial candidate.

Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge are also hopeful of getting the prime minister's post, he claimed.