Keep aside 38 seats for allies to take on BJP-Sena
After going separately in 2014, the Congress and NCP have come together to contest the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly election together. Both the parties will contest 125 seats each and keep aside 38 seats for prospective allies in an attempt to form a broad-based alliance to take on the BJP-Shiv Sena combine.
In 2014, the NCP had then ended the 15-year alliance after the two parties had been unable to reach a seat-sharing arrangement ahead of Assembly elections. The Congress had won 42 seats while the NCP had won 41 seats then. The BJP had emerged as the single-largest party in the State with 122 seats.
The finalisation of the seat-sharing pact between the Congress and the NCP comes after many high-profile leaders from both the parties deserted them to join the BJP and the Shiv Sena. Sharad Pawar had called on Sonia Gandhi in Delhi last week where the two gave final shape to the alliance.
Announcing the deal, Pawar said the seat-sharing pact between the grand old party and the NCP has been finalised and his party will give opportunity to new faces this time. Pawar also said both the parties are yet to decide on the specific seats they will contest.
The smaller parties, which will contest the remaining 38 seats include Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana led by Raju Shetty and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi led by Prakash Ambedkar.
Both the parties had contested as allies in the Lok Sabha this year where the Congress won only one seat and the NCP bagged four. In 2014 general elections, the Congress had won two seats from the State while the NCP won four. The NCP had contested on 21 seats while its partner Congress fielded candidates on 26 seat in the last Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress and the NCP have been in an alliance since 1999 except for the last Assembly elections and they have formed Government thrice. In the 2004 Assembly polls, the NCP had won more seats than the Congress, but the latter bagged the Chief Minister’s post.
Meanwhile, The Election Commission will visit Mumbai on Tuesday and interact with various stakeholders in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections as part of its review of the state’s poll preparedness, sources said on Monday.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora will reach Mumbai on Tuesday evening with Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra and hold meetings with civil adminstration and police officials besides various parties’ leaders there to take stock of the state’s poll readiness.
The meetings would be spread over two days between Tuesday and Wednesday. The poll panel will be back to Delhi on Wednesday evening. The term of the 288-member Maharashtra assembly ends on November 9 and a new assembly has to be constituted before that.
