With more than a fortnight to go for the announcement of the schedule for the Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders – belonging to the Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar) and Shiv Sena (Uddav Thackeray) – have begun their final round of seat-sharing talks for the polls.
Given that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the Assembly poll schedule for Maharashtra and Jharkhand in mid October after the completion of the ongoing Assembly polls in J & K and Karnataka, the political parties in the state are gearing themselves for 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in the end of November or early December.
Not wanting to delay further the seat-sharing tie-up among them, the MVA leaders got down to three-day seat-sharing negotiations which will continue till September 20.
The leaders of the Congress, NCP (SP) and UBT have already held several rounds of preliminary seat-sharing talks.
In the final round of seat-sharing talks that began on Wednesday, the three constituents of the MVA will decide on the number of seats to be contested by each party and the identification of the constituencies from which each party will field their candidates.
Having emerged as the number-one party in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Congress has staked claim for a maximum of 120 to 130 seats out of the total 288 seats.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) is rooting for 90 to 100 seats while the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) is seeking 75 to 80 seats.
All the three MVA constituents have expressed their readiness to adopt a “give and take” approach in the seat-sharing talks.
The criteria being adopted for the seat-sharing arrangement are the performances of the three parties in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the base of the three parties in the respective constituencies and the “winnability” factor.
On its part, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is insisting that it be allotted maximum number of seats and that the “winnability” factor should be only criterion for the seat-sharing tie-up. Shiv Sena’s chief spokesperson has gone on record saying that his party’s votes were transferred in a big way to the candidates belonging to the Congress and NCP( SP).
In an effort to avoid differences over the leadership during the seat-sharing talks, the three MVA constituents have decided to go to the Assembly polls under the joint leadership of three parties.
It may be recalled that on September 4, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar – who is considered the architect of the MVA – had said that the Opposition’s grand alliance would declare its nominee for the chief minister’s post based on which constituent party wins the maximum seats in the State Assembly polls.
Pawar’s announcement came in the backdrop of the Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders’ insistence that their president Uddhav Thackeray be declared as the MVA’s chief ministerial candidate ahead of the State Assembly. However, after Pawar’s announcement, the Sena (UBT) has agreed to accept Pawar’s suggestion that the MVA’s chief ministerial nominee be announced after the State Assembly polls.
The Congress team that is taking part in the seat-sharing talks comprises among AICC general secretary Ramesh Chennithala, state Congress president Nana Patole, Congress legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat, while Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and his aide Sanjay Raut are representing the Shiv Sena (UBT).
Sharad Pawar and his party’s state unit president Jayant Patil are involved in the talks.
Since there were serious differences in the sharing of seats like Kolhapur, Sangli, Bhiwandi and seats of Mumbai in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the leaders are trying their best to paper over their differences.
Of the total 288 seats in the state, Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) account for 36 and 65 seats respectively. Naturally, the two regions play a crucial role in the seat-sharing talks. Given its strong base in Mumbai and surrounding areas, the Shiv Sena (UBT) are staking a claim for a larger number of seats from Mumbai and MMR.
