Mumbai: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has worked out a seat-sharing arrangement but negotiations are still underway on at least four Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, ThePrint has learnt.
Among the seats that are still under deliberation are Mumbai South Central, Bhiwandi, Nashik and Ramtek, said a leader privy to the seat-sharing talks. “Negotiations are on but there is no need for a separate meeting. We will discuss these seats one on one with the respective parties,” the leader told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
The MVA comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
Asked if the delay in finalising a seat-sharing formula was on account of the fact that the undivided Shiv Sena traditionally put up candidates against the NCP-Congress combine in Maharashtra, a second leader privy to the talks said: “It is not a problem. We will be able to solve these at the earliest. One of the tricky issues, however, is the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi factor.”
The Prakash Ambedkar-led VBA sent a proposal to the MVA Wednesday saying he had already begun preparations to contest 27 of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha seats. Ambedkar also asked the MVA to consider fielding at least 15 OBC candidates and another three candidates from minority communities.
When asked about the proposal, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had told the media earlier this week, “We will discuss Prakash Ambedkar’s proposal. And the heads of our parties will hold a meeting with him.”
Leaders privy to the seat-sharing talks confirmed to ThePrint that Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will hold a final round of discussions with Prakash Ambedkar in the days to come.
Ambedkar, on the other hand, reiterated in an interaction with the media in Nagpur Friday that if the VBA were to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections independent of any alliance, it could win as many as six seats.
Leaders of the MVA, which was in power in Maharashtra with Uddhav Thackeray as chief minister from 2019 till 2022, had met Tuesday and again on Wednesday to finalise a seat-sharing formula.
While Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe Patil dismissed speculation that the alliance is yet to reach an agreement on certain seats, spokespersons of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Shiv Sena (UBT) told ThePrint that all such issues will be resolved in the next 3-4 days.
“Since we all are of different ideologies and have traditionally fought against each other, there are some discussions which are still going on regarding a few seats. But we can assure you that it will be solved in 3-4 days,” said Shiv Sena UBT spokesperson Anand Dubey.
One leader privy to the talks quoted earlier, however, said the announcement of the seat-sharing formula will be tricky since constituents of the alliance are wary of poaching and those denied a ticket or told that their seat has been allocated to an ally may threaten to leave the party.
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4 seats in contention within MVA
Among the four seats on which the MVA is struggling to reach an agreement is Mumbai South Central. A coveted seat that includes the area of Dadar — where a memorial to Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray is situated, in Shivaji Park — is held by Rahul Shewale of the Shinde-led Sena.
The seat was held by the Shiv Sena from 1989 till 2004, when the late Eknath Gaikwad won it for the Congress. It was traditionally part of the undivided Shiv Sena’s kitty when it was in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), before the formation of the MVA in 2019. This is among the reasons the Shiv Sena (UBT) is not willing to part with it which the Congress is eyeing since it believes it has a winnable candidate for the seat.
Bhiwandi in Thane district, another seat for which deliberations are underway, is currently held by BJP’s Kapil Patil. It is learnt that both the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the Congress have staked claim to this seat, which the Congress won in 2009.
The NCP, on the other hand, believes that the Congress does not have a significant presence in Bhiwandi since its corporators had cross-voted in the mayoral polls for the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) held in 2019.
Another seat in contention is Ramtek in Vidarbha district. Here, the Congress and the undivided Shiv Sena have traditionally fielded candidates against each other. In 2009, AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik was elected to Parliament from this seat, which Krupal Tumane of the Shinde-led Sena won in 2014 and retained in 2019.
Nashik is another seat over which the MVA is struggling to reach an agreement since both the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the Shiv Sena (UBT) have traditionally pitted candidates against each other here.
Asked how the constituents of the MVA plan to iron out these issues, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) spokesperson Clyde Castro told ThePrint, “The discussion is still going on over finer points and the seat-sharing arrangement will be announced soon. If you want to save democracy, all parties have to come together and put up winnable candidates.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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