Mumbai: Both the ruling Mahayuti alliance and opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have all but finalized their first lists of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections, with each camp arriving at a consensus on around 260 seats of a total 288 in the state.
The Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra concluded discussions on around 260 seats at a marathon meeting at union home minister Amit Shah’s official residence in Delhi, which ended in the wee hours on Saturday. Chief minister Eknath Shinde said differences remain over 25-30 seats but these would be ironed out in a couple of days.
According to the formula worked out by the alliance leaders, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will get around 155 seats, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena around 85, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will have to settle for 45-50 seats. . The BJP’s central leadership has convinced the Ajit Pawar-led NCP to settle for fewer seats than he hoped for, promising to make up for the loss in power-sharing after the election.
The BJP’s central leadership has urged the alliance leaders to resolve differences over the disputed seats among themselves, but with a stern message. Shah reportedly said they should aim for an amicable resolution so that it would not cost them like it did during the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year. He said candidates should be chosen based on elective merit.
Shinde said on Saturday that the seat-sharing formula would be announced in the next two days. “We discussed the seat-sharing with Amit ji during our meeting in Delhi and discussions are in the last stage. Barely 25-30 seats are undecided and, if necessary, Amitbhai will intervene to resolve the issue,” he said.
Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the three constituents of the ruling alliance will soon start releasing their list separately. “We successfully resolved issues with half the disputed seats during our meeting in Delhi. We have decided to release the lists separately for the seats that have been arrived at by consensus. The BJP’s list is expected to be announced soon,” he said.
Meanwhile, the opposition camp too is close to locking their list but not before high drama briefly stalled discussions on the seat-sharing arrangement. After a series of marathon meetings, the MVA too has locked around 260 seats. Around 15-20 seats, especially in Vidarbha and Mumbai, are yet to be decided.
According to the MVA’s seat-sharing formula, the Congress is expected to get 110 seats, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP) may get 80-85 seats each. Smaller allies like the Samajwadi Party, Peasants and Workers Party, and Communist Party of India are expected to collectively get around 15-20 seats. The three parties are expected to release their first list separately late on Sunday or Monday.
As the race to finalize their lists hotted up, tempers spilled over in a heated exchange between state Congress chief Nana Patole and Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday. Lashing out at Raut, Patole alleged that Raut appears to think he is more important than party chief Uddhav Thackeray. Raut hit back, saying that state Congress leaders have no powers to take decisions and the Sena (UBT) was speaking to the Congress’s central leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Mukul Wasnik.
To avoid a showdown, senior leaders of the two parties stepped in. Congress leader in charge of the state polls, Ramesh Chennithala, met with Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at the latter’s residence Matoshree in Mumbai. Although Chennithala claimed he had met Thackeray to inquire about his health, in view of his recent surgery, the meeting was a signal to the other leaders that consensus should be top priority. “His (Uddhav’s) and even the MVA’s health is all right and we don’t have any differences between us,” he said, adding that seat-sharing will be finalized in a day or two.
The contentious MVA seats
Among the 20-odd contentious seats, 8 in Vidarbha and a few in Mumbai are yet to be settled. While Thackeray is insisting on 12 seats in Vidarbha, the Congress is prepared to concede only 8 each to the Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP. The most hotly debated seats in Vidarbha are South and North Nagpur, and Ramtek, as the Congress and Sena (UBT) are both determined to hold on to them.
The two parties are also at loggerheads over a few Mumbai seats. Both the Congress and Sena (UBT) are insisting on Versova, Bandra East and Byculla, among others. Sources said the Congress has been offering the Sena (UBT) seats in the Konkan, where neither the Congress or the NCP has a voter base.
“Some constituencies like Malabar Hill have no takers from any of the constituents, while Muslim- and Dalit-dominated constituencies are in demand from all three parties. Basmat in Hingoli is being sought by the NCP, while Kinwat is being eyed by all three parties. Former NCP MLA Pradeep Jadhav has been finalized by the NCP for the seat,” said a senior Congress leader.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders including former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, former Punjab CM Ranjit Singh Channi, and former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel held a meeting with state leaders in Mumbai on Saturday. The central leaders were dispatched by the Congress high command to discuss region-wise seat distribution and caste or quota equations in these regions. Against the backdrop of the Haryana assembly results, the leaders discussed steps that need to be taken in Maharashtra.
