‘Didn’t want to upset Shinde ji’: Devendra Fadnavis on why BJP compromised on seat-sharing in Thane

During the interaction, Fadnavis also took indirect swipes at Uddhav and Raj Thackeray for projecting themselves as political brands.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that the BJP agreed to contest fewer seats than its ally Shiv Sena in Thane to avoid upsetting Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and keep the Mahayuti alliance intact.

Speaking at a public interview at Gadkari Rangayatan in Thane, Fadnavis said there was strong pressure from among the local BJP workers to contest the civic polls independently. “Our workers felt our strength has increased and that we should fight on our own,” he said, adding that this view was conveyed to the leadership by state BJP president Ravindra Chavan.

However, Fadnavis said, the BJP chose alliance discipline over seat numbers and decided to contest together with the Sena. “We did not want to disturb Shinde ji. He is the chief of the Sena that follows Balasaheb’s ideology, and Thane is his identity. We did not want to disturb him for a few seats,” he added, saying that the alliance had now come together firmly.

The political reality in Thane could not be ignored, Fadnavis said. “The Shiv Sena has been the main political force in Thane for 25 years. Thane was Balasaheb Thackeray’s city, and it is also Eknath Shinde’s political base,” he pointed out. “If we had fought separately just for seat calculations, we might have come to power, but it would have created bitterness,” he added.

Under the Mahayuti seat-sharing arrangement, the 131-member Thane Municipal Corporation will see the Shinde-led Shiv Sena contesting 87 seats, and the BJP 40. The Sena-BJP’s Mahayuti ally, the NCP led by Ajit Pawar, will contest 75 seats independently. Smaller allies will contest four seats.

On the Opposition side, the Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest 53 seats, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena 34, the NCP (SP) 36 seats, and the Congress 96 seats.

Fadnavis said the BJP leadership took a conscious call to step back. “We decided that if needed, we would accept fewer seats but fight together,” he said, adding that party workers were eventually convinced that unity was more important than gaining “five or 10 extra seats”.

The focus, he said, should remain on stability and governance. “Sometimes, taking fewer seats helps ensure stability. In the long run, that matters more than numbers,” Fadnavis said, expressing confidence that voters would judge the alliance on performance rather than seat arithmetic.