BJP keen on contesting 8 NMaha seats it lost in 2019

Nashik: BJP is likely to stake its claim for eight more seats in the five districts of north Maharashtra where its candidates came in second in the 2019 assembly election.
Insiders said that they will take it up with Union Home Minister Amit Shah when he reviews the party's preparedness in the five districts on September 25.
"Shah will address party office-bearers from booth level to the top ranks along with former and sitting elected representatives on Wednesday.We will request more seats besides those we won during the last election," Govind Chaudhary, general secretary and the party's north Maharashtra in-charge said.
Of the 47 assembly seats in the region, the party had contested 26 of which it won 16 in the 2019 assembly election.
The office-bearer said that Muktainagar, Karjat-Jamkhed, Akole, Kopargaon and others are among the eight seats where their candidates ended runners-up and the party now stands a fair chance of winning.
He added that the party was focusing on ‘mandal' level (a cluster of polling booths) to strengthen its position in the assembly constituency.
"Since this meeting is related to organisation, the thrust is to prepare the groundwork for winning the assembly seat for the party and for Mahayuti in places where there would be no BJP candidate," he added.
A BJP source said that the opposition's fake narrative had cost Mahayuti in the Lok Sabha poll which the people have now understood.
"Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement on reservation has vindicated the party's stand. The BJP-led govt has not thought of amending the Constitution in its two terms. People, especially from the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, now realise that they fell for the fake narrative. Even onion farmers have also understood that the problem was cyclic and they are now getting good returns. Hence, we are sure people will vote for Mahayuti," he added.