In a joint address on Friday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray declared that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will fight on 150 seats in the state, while Sena will contest from 124. The remaining 14 seats will go smaller allies such as the Republican Party of India (Athavale), Rashtriya Samaj Party and others. It is believed that a considerable number of these will fight on the BJP's symbol. There are a total of 288 seats in the Assembly. BJP had won 122 seats in the last state elections, whereas the Shiv Sena had to be content with 63. Sena supporters are heartened that its leaders struck a good bargain with its ally-- the party is contesting from nearly double the number of seats it won last time, while BJP is fighting on only a few more seats than its final tally. However, analysts feel that BJP's final tally will be more than 150 seats, with the smaller allies contesting under the Lotus, and hence it may close to the victory tally of 144. This put BJP on a stronger wicket than the Shiv Sena. Forget sharing the chief minister's post for half the term, in the emerging scenario, even the deputy CM's seat is a distant dream for the Sena. "Sena is on the back foot," explained senior political observer Kirti Shinde, "In the past two to three months, it's leadership has been aggressive against the BJP. Suddenly, in the last week, it turned soft and sweet. It projected Aaditya as the chief ministerial candidate and then withdrew. The BJP has shown them their rightful place." Amidst the newfound love, BJP is aware that it has emerged as an elder brother to its allies. Its leaders just see this as an extension of the overall growth the party has witnessed in the state. "In the last five years, BJP has expanded considerably and in all sections. So it was natural for this seat-sharing formula to work. Parties come together in different political scenarios and stitch alliances as per the situation," said Keshav Upadhye, BJP state spokesperson. The Sena, which has always fought on more than 170 seats in all political pairings before this, seems to have made its peace with the reality of current times. However, the party still feels that the BJP needs its support to ascend to power in the state. "We have 63 seats and they have 122," said Manisha Kayande, Sena's spokesperson, "I think there is scope for the Sena to grow from its current tally. I don't think the BJP will get a simple majority, which is why they felt the need to align (with us). Despite a winning wave, they got fewer seats last time. We have definitely got a better bargain."

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