Union Minister Ramdas Athawale met Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde to request more seats for his Republican Party of India (Athawale) in the upcoming BMC and Thane civic polls. Athawale stated his party workers feel underrepresented and called the previous exclusion from a seat-sharing deal a "betrayal of trust," seeking additional seats from the BJP-Shiv Sena quota for active participation.