The BJP has managed to gain the upper hand and re-assert its position as the big brother during the seat distribution negotiations for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly election. BJP, along with its allies Republican Party of India (Athavale), Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, Shiv Sangram and Rayat Kranti Sanghtana are set to contest from 164 seats, leaving only 124 seats to the Shiv Sena. In lieu, the BJP has assured Shiv Sena of two seats in the upcoming election to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from its quota. Ironically, Shiv Sena, which had formed an alliance with the BJP after dropping its plan to go solo in Lok Sabha election, has accepted to play second fiddle to BJP in the state Assembly, too. After the BJP outright rejected Sena's proposal of 144:144 seat sharing formula, it has also scrapped the previous suggestion of sharing the Chief Minister's post for two-and-a-half-year each. Further, the BJP has even refused to give the deputy chief minister's post to Shiv Sena. BJP on Tuesday declared its first list of 125 nominees, while its second list for 39 candidates — including its allies — will be announced on Wednesday as October 4 is the last date for filing nomination. BJP allies will contest the election on BJP's lotus symbol. In Mumbai, where the Sena has a lot at stake, it has managed to get 19 of 36 seats. However, BJP has not left a single seat for Sena in Pune, Nagpur and Nashik, which senior Sena leaders admit has rankled the rank and file. In the 2014 Assembly election, all the four key political parties in the state fought independently. Then, the BJP leaped ahead with 122 seats — its best showing ever in the state — with the Sena trailing at 63. The Congress and NCP won 42 and 41 seats, respectively. Therefore, this time round, the BJP wanted a bigger share. A BJP minister told DNA, "The party has been on an expansionist mode since the beginning of Modi era. In Maharashtra, too, the party has consoldiated its position after the 2014 Assembly election. On the other hand, the Sena had lost its control over its core lower middle-class Marathi-speaking voters. So the party was not ready to share equal seats with Shiv Sena as CM Fadnavis has set an ambitious target of winning 160 seats." On the other hand, a Sena minister admitted that fighting the Assembly polls independently was a risky proposition. Further, a senior Shiv Sena leader said that despite the alliance, there was fear that local BJP leaders may prop up independents or smaller outfits to cut into the Sena's votes and engineer the defeat of their nominees.

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