The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena on Monday finalised an alliance for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, PTI reported, quoting state minister Chandrakant Patil. The BJP leader told reporters in Mumbai that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray will soon announce the division of seats.

The Republican Party of India (Athawale), Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, Shiv Sangram Sanghatana and Rayat Kranti Sena will be the other members of the alliance, according to a joint statement issued by Patil and Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai.

The announcement of the alliance comes after Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, the son of Uddhav Thackeray, confirmed that he will be contesting the Assembly polls from Worli in Mumbai. He will be the first member of the Thackeray family to fight an election. Aaditya Thackeray is the president of Yuva Sena, the party’s youth wing, at present. The Worli seat is currently held by Shiv Sena MLA Sunil Shinde.

Maharashtra will vote for all 288 Assembly seats on October 21, and votes will be counted on October 24. In 2014, the BJP had won 122 seats, and the Shiv Sena 63. The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance is the other group in the fray for elections.

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