Maharashtra: BJP asks workers to prepare for all seats

Asserting that it would contest the polls in Maharashtra in alliance with the Shiv Sena, the BJP state leadership on Sunday asked party workers to start preparation in all 288 seats and not to worry about the post of the chief minister.

The directives to the party workers came at the state executive committee meeting that was presided over by BJP working president Jagat Prakash Nadda.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP president Chandrakant Patil addressed the party workers on these two critical issues.

"The BJP grand alliance (with Shiv Sena and other smaller parties) must win 220 seats," said Patil, who is the revenue and public workers minister and No. 2 in the Fadnavis government.

He asked the party workers to start preparations in all the 288 seats of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

"Let's leave the alliance talks and seat-sharing to chief minister and party president Amit Shah. Let's strengthen the BJP at the booth-level in the state. Even if our allies contest particular seats, our booth structure will ensure their victory. Let's focus only on this," he said.

Fadnavis said that the BJP will contest elections in an alliance. "Let me make one thing clear, let us all be very clear... we are going to contest the alliance (with Shiv Sena)... there should be no doubt about it... the chief minister is decided by the people," he said. "The media clears confusion, don't believe in that," he said.

"I had said earlier... I will come again... I am the chief minister of BJP, Shiv Sena and RPI (alliance)," he said.