The Congress party has turned down the demand put forth by its ally Shiv Sena (UBT) for 23 seats in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections scheduled for next year. This decision follows discussions among leaders to finalize the seat-sharing arrangement among the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi coalition partners, which include Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP.
The Shiv Sena, currently divided into two factions, pressed for a claim to 23 out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, despite the majority of its members aligning with Eknath Shinde. The factional division within the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray faces a notable challenge due to a scarcity of candidates, as highlighted by Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam.
Representatives from the Congress party emphasized during the meeting that, given the splits within Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, the grand old party seems to be the only one maintaining a stable vote share in the state.
Ashok Chavan, former Chief Minister and senior Maharashtra Congress leader, stressed the necessity for adjustments among the coalition partners. “While every party desires a larger share of seats, the demand for 23 seats by the Shiv Sena was excessive given the current circumstances,” he remarked.
Sanjay Nirupam added that leaders should steer clear of conflicts over seat allocations, expressing skepticism about Shiv Sena’s ability to effectively utilize the demanded 23 seats amid its internal turmoil.
In a recent development, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut revealed that he, along with party leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray, engaged in discussions with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal before the recent meeting of the Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A..
However, Raut did not disclose details about the number of seats the Congress and NCP would contest in the upcoming elections.