Mumbai: The seat sharing tussle between the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies is far from over. Although the alliance claims that they have reached consensus over 260 seats out of the state’s 288, the last few seats is where the deadlock continues.
All three primary parties within the alliance are claiming stakes on the remaining seats, and even the smaller ones that have supported MVA want a larger share of the pie.
The stalemate over these seats reached a point where the Shiv Sena (UBT) threatened to not participate in talks if Congress state president Nana Patole is a part of it. However, speaking to the media Saturday, Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut denied having taking this stance.
Meanwhile, the war of words between Patole and Raut has not gone unnoticed. While Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has urged restraint, Congress state in-charge Ramesh Chennithala has said he’ll hold a meeting to address the issue. This meeting is expected to be held Saturday and aims to end the stalemate.
According to sources, the seat sharing formula at the moment is 100-80-80 (for 260 seats) with the Congress getting 100, but the party, along with the Shiv Sena UBT, wants more.
The two parties are clashing particularly over seats in Vidarbha, where the Sena (UBT) aims to capitalise on the anti-BJP sentiment, while Congress is unwilling to concede more ground.
“The talks should be resolved in a day or two. It is just a matter of a few seats. Such disagreements were bound to happen since the number of seats are more than in Lok Sabha, but we will be able to resolve it peacefully,” said a senior Congress leader to ThePrint.
Some of the seats on which there is dispute include at least three seats in Mumbai—Bandra East, Byculla, and Versova—where both Congress and Sena UBT want to contest.
Currently Versova is with the BJP, Byculla with Shiv Sena (its MLA Yamini Jadhav is with Shinde Sena), and Bandra East is with the Congress (MLA Zeeshan Siddique).
The Sena (UBT) is targeting the Marathi and Muslim vote banks in these constituencies. However, Congress is reluctant to give up its core minority voters, a Sena (UBT) leader told ThePrint.
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Deadlock
The war of words between Raut and Patole turned ugly Friday.
While speaking to the media Friday, Raut said, “There is very little time remaining and the decision on seat sharing must be expedited. Since the Congress state leaders have to send everything to Delhi, it looks like they are not capable of taking decisions and the discussion needs to take place with central leadership of Congress.”
In response, Nana Patole fired back at a press conference, saying, “We respect our leadership. If Sanjay Raut overrides Uddhavji, that’s his issue. Our responsibility is to answer to our leadership. I don’t want to talk about Sanjay Raut.”
After this statement, on Friday, there was no meeting over seat sharing.
However, Uddhav has tried to control the damage.
“This type of bickering among allies must not reach a breaking point. I will take more information on what happened. However, I have not heard from my party leaders about any such issue within the MVA,” Thackeray said at a press conference the same day.
Contentious seats
Most of the contentious seats within the MVA are between Congress and Sena (UBT), with both parties staking claims.
In the case of Bandra East, Sena MLC Anil Parab announced Wednesday that Yuva Sena leader Varun Sardesai would contest from the seat, which is currently held by Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddique.
In Vidarbha, all three parties are trying to lay claim over the same seats.
For instance, in Ramtek, the Sena (UBT) is now seeking the ticket, a seat it had previously ceded to Congress during the Lok Sabha elections.
In Hingna in Wardha district, Ganapati in Marathwada, and Jintur in Parbhani, the NCP (Sharad Pawar) is at odds with the Congress, with both parties vying for these seats.
Not only the major parties, but smaller parties are also giving an ultimatum to MVA.
Former Solapur MLA Deepak Salunkhe, who has joined Sena (UBT), is expected to be given the Sangola seat, traditionally held by the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP). On Friday, the PWP issued an ultimatum to the MVA, threatening to walk out if their traditional seats, including Sangola, are not allotted to them.
In addition, Akhilesh Yadav, chief of Samajwadi Party (SP)—which is part of the INDIA bloc—arrived in Maharashtra Friday to launch the party’s campaign. The SP has provided the MVA with a list of 12 seats, predominantly Muslim-dominated, that they are targeting.
The previous day, Yadav had said to the media, “I will be in Maharashtra to hold talks with MVA over seat sharing. We have 2 MLAs currently and have shared a list of seats. We are hopeful of getting more seats.”
He addressed a public meeting in Malegaon Friday and is scheduled to address another in Dhule Saturday. In addition to these two, the SP is also seeking seats in Byculla, Versova, and Anushakti Nagar, among others.