Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Congress goes into huddle; Nana Patole flags MVA seat-sharing deadlock on ’30-40 seats’

Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: On Monday, Congress leaders convened a Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting at the AICC headquarters in Delhi to strategize for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.

Attendees included Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and General Secretary KC Venugopal.

Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Seat-Sharing Disputes Within MVA

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole highlighted ongoing issues regarding seat-sharing among the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners.

“We (Congress) have discussed 96 seats today. There are some seats in the discussion, but we did not talk about them. We will talk to Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray tomorrow. Regarding the sharing problem on 30-40 seats, we will find a way for it,” Nana Patole informed reporters.

Congress-in-charge Ramesh Chennithala dismissed any notions of rifts among MVA partners, stating, “MVA will fight together in this election and our government will be formed. Today, the Congress Central Election Committee meeting will be held at 5:00. The screening committee meeting has been done. There is no displeasure in MVA.”

Echoing the same, Congress leader and Maharashtra LoP Vijay Wadettiwar had said, “…By tomorrow (October 22) evening, we will finalise the 17 seats. There are issues on 6-7 seats in Vidarbha and that too will be resolved. We are going to contest as Aghadi…Since there are 3 parties sharing 288 seats, it took a little time…Final decision on all 288 seats for Maha Vikas Aghadi will be made by tomorrow evening…”

On Monday, Sharad Pawar remained at the YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai, where Congress leader Naseem Khan, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray, Sanjay Raut, Anil Parab, and NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh met with him.

Maharashtra assembly elections 2024: Recent Developments and Tensions

As the MVA navigates seat-sharing negotiations, tensions have emerged, resulting in a verbal spat between state Congress chief Nana Patole and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.

In response, Uddhav Thackeray urged the parties to avoid escalating the situation further. Reports indicate that a resolution to the seat-sharing agreement is expected within the next couple of days.

Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: BJP Finalises Seat-Sharing Strategy

In contrast, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently released its first list of 99 candidates for the Maharashtra assembly elections, signaling its preparedness.

The Mahayuti alliance appears to have reached a consensus on its seat-sharing arrangement, following discussions involving Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis.

CNBC report reveals that if the agreement holds, the BJP is set to contest 156 seats, while the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena will seek 78 seats, and Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will aim for 54 seats.

Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Upcoming Elections and Timeline

The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, 2024, where voters will elect 288 members of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

The results will be announced on November 23.