The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), a coalition of the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (SP), on Wednesday said it had completed seat-sharing discussions on all 48 Lok Sabha seats. The meeting was attended by former Union Minister Sharad Pawar, former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Congress’ Balasaheb Thorat and other senior leaders.
Inviting the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) for the ‘crucial’ discussions, the three allies engaged in more than three hours of meeting at a hotel in the city.
Also read: MVA says discussions complete on all 48 seats in Maharashtra
With 48 Lok Sabha seats, Maharashtra holds the second-highest number in the country after Uttar Pradesh’s 80. The MVA constituents, engaged in intense discussions for days, aim to find common ground on seat allocation.
Prior to the meeting, Mr. Throat met Mr. Ambedkar to discuss matters separately, as confirmed by the Congress leader himself. The Dalit leader has already declared candidates for Sangli and Wardha Lok Sabha constituencies, traditionally contested by the Congress.
Despite electoral defeat in the 2019 elections, the disruption VBA caused in the seat-sharing talks highlighted its influence, with the party chief claiming more than a lakh votes in each constituency, which prompted the Opposition allies to engage Mr. Ambedkar in talks to potentially negotiate a deal.
Sources told The Hindu that the Thackeray-led Sena was adamant about contesting in 18 seats won by the undivided Sena in the previous Lok Sabha elections. “They have asked for more seats. A decision has been made and the seat-sharing formula will be announced soon,” a Congress leader said, adding that another meeting would be held in the next three days.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut reiterated there were no differences within the MVA partners, including Mr. Ambedkar. “We have come together on a common ground to fight and defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There are no differences between the MVA partners and VBA, an important party in the State,” he said.
Mr. Ambedkar had submitted a list of proposals, which include giving tickets to at least 15 OBC leaders irrespective of the party, the sources quoted above said.
