MVA allies struggle to finalise seat sharing ahead of state polls

Nagpur: With the Maharashtra assembly elections looming, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and Sharad Pawar's NCP has made partial progress in finalising its seat-sharing arrangements. The coalition partners are now grappling with significant challenges, particularly over allocation of constituencies in Mumbai and Vidarbha, said Congress and UBT Sena leaders.
The MVA has so far agreed on the distribution of 160 seats among its constituents.These allocations have been primarily based on factors such as existing legislators, the party's strength in the constituency, and the perceived ability of the candidate to win. But the remaining 128 seats are a point of contention, they said.
The primary flashpoints are in Mumbai and Vidarbha. In the state capital, the Uddhav Sena has staked a claim to 21 seats, several of which are currently held by the Congress party. The Shiv Sena argues that maintaining a stronghold in Mumbai is crucial, but the Congress is reluctant to cede control of these constituencies, where it has an established presence.
Compounding the issue, the Congress is demanding 45 seats in Vidarbha, which the party sees as a vital battleground for securing power in the state. The Congress leadership in the region has asserted that the party's extensive grassroots network in the relatively backward Vidarbha gives it a better chance of winning compared to Uddhav Sena and Pawar's NCP.
"If Congress is granted 45 seats in Vidarbha, it leaves only 97 seats for UBT Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP faction. This raises the questions of how the remaining constituencies will be divided," said an MVA leader.
The Uddhav Sena has, in turn, laid claim to seats in Ramtek, Washim, Amravati, and Akola, areas where the party believes it has a strong base. Shiv Sena (UBT) district president Prakash Jadhav argued that the party has won the Lok Sabha seat in Ramtek multiple times and sacrificed it to the Congress in the Lok Sabha election this year, expecting reciprocation in the assembly polls.
"In Ramtek, we have won the Lok Sabha polls five times – twice by Subodh Mohite and Krupal Tumane and once by me. This time we have sacrificed our seat to Congress from where Shyamkumar Barve won. Do they think that he won just on Congress votes?" Jadhav said.
To resolve the disputes over specific seats, the MVA has decided that the two parties claiming a particular constituency will engage in direct bilateral negotiations. This approach aims to streamline the decision-making process within the coalition.
"The discussions are basically focused on every seat and the winning probability of the party and its candidate," said Congress chief spokesperson Atul Londhe, asserting that Vidarbha has been a Congress stronghold for years.
Uddhav Sena MP Sanjay Raut told the media that they emphasised on the unity within the alliance, saying, "Regardless of how many seats each party demands, we three parties will make decisions together. There are no disagreements in our decision-making process."
As the Maharashtra assembly elections draw closer, the MVA faces the challenge of presenting a united front while satisfying the ambitions of its constituent parties. The outcome of these seat-sharing talks will be crucial in determining the opposition's strength against the ruling coalition.