Ramdas Athawale, president of the Republican Party of India (RPI), has toned down his earlier aggressive stand on the issue of seat-sharing. Mr Athawale on Tuesday agreed to reduce his demand of six Lok Sabha seats to three, all by
himself. He also announced that his party would remain a part of the mega-alliance of the Shiv Sena and the BJP.
“We have demanded six seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from our alliance partners, but the party will be satisfied if it gets three seats also,” Mr Athawale said while talking to reporters.
Earlier, the RPI chief had demanded six Lok Sabha seats and 35 seats for the state Assembly elections. He had been aggressive about his demands and had publicly repeated them on many occasions. However, neither the Shiv Sena nor the BJP seemed to be paying heed.
The Lok Sabha seats demanded by the RPI are Ramtek, Kalyan, South-Central Mumbai, Satara, Pune and Latur constituencies.
Mr Athawale clarified that he no intention of pulling out from the mega-alliance. He also asserted that talks on sharing of seats in the elections should be started as early as possible.
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Konkan rail holds meet
Mumbai: The 11th Konkan Railway users consultative committee (KRUCC) meeting was held at the corporate office of Konkan Railway at Belapur, Navi Mumbai.
It was chaired by Bhanu Prakash Tayal, chairman and managing director of Konkan Railway.
All the heads of department also attended the meeting and
discussed the betterment of train services, increasing of passengers’ services and amenities at different stations.
Members appreciated the projects undertaken but emphasised the need to give more attention to infrastructure and safety of trains, especially during the ongoing monsoon season.