“Seat Sharing Issues Resolved,” Says Congress Leader Vijay Wadettiwar

Congress leader and Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar announced on Thursday that the seat-sharing problem has been settled, expressing confidence that the opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), will secure over 200 seats in the upcoming elections.

“The issue of seat sharing has been resolved. We will contest the elections based on merit. In Maharashtra, after finalizing seat sharing, we are confident of surpassing 200 seats. This ‘Mahayuti’ has ruined the state, and we are determined to dethrone them. The public is also ready to make a change,” Wadettiwar stated.

He accused the current government of increasing corruption and mismanagement, claiming, “Corruption has risen by about 30-35 percent. Maharashtra is being openly looted.”

On Wednesday, the MVA announced its seat-sharing plan, allocating 255 seats with each party receiving 85, while the remaining 23 will be decided based on their candidate lists, with some seats designated for the Samajwadi Party, PWP, and CPI.

Meanwhile, the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena released its first list of 65 candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, including incumbent Aaditya Thackeray running from the Worli constituency. Kedhar Dighe, nephew of Anand Dighe, is set to challenge CM Eknath Shinde in the Kopri-Panchpakhadi constituency.

Additionally, Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) announced its first list of 38 candidates, with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar contesting from Baramati.

The assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with vote counting on November 23. The main contest will be between two alliances: the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Ajit Pawar’s NCP, and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena; and the MVA, consisting of Congress, the UBT faction of Shiv Sena, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP.

In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP secured 105 seats, the Shiv Sena won 56, and Congress took 44.