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Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that there is no guarantee that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will return to power at the Centre for the fourth time. Gadkari said this while taking a dig at his cabinet colleague Ramdas Athawale’s ability to retain his place in the cabinet in several governments.
“There cannot be a guarantee that our government will return for the fourth time, but it is certain that Ramdas Athawale will become a minister,” Gadkari said at an event in Nagpur, Maharashtra on Sunday, according to an NDTV report.
Athawale, a leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Republican Party of India (RPI), has been a minister thrice and expressed confidence that he would continue the streak if the BJP returns to power.
Senior BJP leader Gadkari is the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Athawale said his party RPI (A), which is an ally in the ruling Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, should get a chance to contest at least 10 to 12 seats in the upcoming assembly elections. He said the RPI-A will contest on its party symbol and will demand three to four seats in Vidarbha, including North Nagpur, Umred (Nagpur), Umarkhed in Yavatmal and Washim.
Maharashtra Assembly elections are likely to be held in November. Although the election schedule has not been officially announced yet, preparations by political parties are in full swing as the elections may be held in the second or third week of November. The term of the current assembly will last till the end of November.
In the current assembly, the BJP is the single largest party with 103 MLAs, followed by Shiv Sena 40, NCP 41, Congress 40, Shiv Sena (UBT) 15, NCP (SP) 13 and others 29. Some seats are vacant.
The BJP failed to secure a majority in the Lok Sabha in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while in the last two terms it had to rely on NDA allies to form the government at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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