Mumbai: Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which includes Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction), and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is set to announce its seat-sharing agreement for Maharashtra assembly elections at a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday. This decision follows a meeting held on Tuesday, where leaders discussed their strategy for the elections.
According to sources, Congress is expected to contest between 105 to 110 seats, the Shiv Sena (UBT) between 85 to 90 seats, and NCP (led by Sharad Pawar) will aim for 75 to 80 seats. The first list of Congress candidates is expected to be released on Friday.
Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray factions distributing AB forms
Both Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray’s factions have begun distributing AB forms to their candidates. On Tuesday, Sharad Pawar distributed 17 AB forms and sources indicated that Uddhav’s faction has also distributed more than 10 forms.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already announced candidates for 99 assembly seats and has also started the process of distributing AB forms. The Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena announced 45 seats on Tuesday, and these candidates will begin receiving their AB forms on Wednesday.
Ajit Pawar faction of NCP has not made a formal announcement but has distributed AB forms to 21 people. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has also announced 45 candidates, who will receive their AB forms on Wednesday.
What happened in meetings?
Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat met Sharad Pawar to discuss the seat-sharing arrangement. Despite some reports suggesting disagreements between Congress and the Shiv Sena regarding the distribution of seats, Thorat assured that there are no major disputes within the MVA alliance. He said that he would also meet Uddhav Thackeray to continue discussions on the seat-sharing issue.
In a previous statement, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said that discussions had been completed for 96 seats, while Sanjay Raut from the Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed that a consensus had been reached for 210 out of 288 seats in Maharashtra. The assembly elections in the state are scheduled for November 20, with the counting of votes to take place on November 23.
While MVA is finalising its seat-sharing, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already released its first list of candidates, announcing names for 99 seats. This list includes 13 women candidates, although the party has also cut the tickets of three sitting MLAs.
