Maharashtra Elections: Congress-Shiv Sena (UBT) Rift Over Seat Distribution Intensifies

Seat-sharing talks within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections have encountered a roadblock, with Congress leaders pushing for a distribution of constituencies based on the success rates in the recent Lok Sabha elections, according to a Hindustan Times report.

The MVA is an alliance of three main parties: the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar.

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Two senior Congress leaders have expressed that the "seat equation" among the three allies has shifted following the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress secured 13 out of the 17 seats it contested, while the NCP(SP) won eight out of 10 seats and the Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed nine out of the 21 seats it contested.

"After the Lok Sabha elections, there has been some tension between the Congress and the Sena (UBT) over which party should receive a larger share of assembly seats. Our strike rate has been the best," one Congress leader said in HT, choosing to remain anonymous.

Seat distribution is crucial in any alliance, as it can influence who will be considered for the chief ministerial position. The Maharashtra assembly consists of 288 seats, with elections scheduled for November.

The second Congress leader revealed that the three allies are currently discussing individual seats and evaluating the chances of each party's success in those constituencies. For Congress, securing 115 to 120 seats would be a fair outcome. The leader noted that the Sena (UBT) cannot claim all 56 seats it won in 2019, as many of its MLAs have since defected to the rival Shiv Sena.

No official comment has been made by the Sena (UBT), but party MP Sanjay Raut previously stated that while some constituencies have competing claims, he is optimistic the seat-sharing formula will be decided before Dussehra.

In the 2019 assembly elections, the undivided Shiv Sena won 56 seats, Congress won 44, and the undivided NCP won 54.

The first Congress leader also mentioned that 23 seats, which the party narrowly lost in the 2019 elections, are still being negotiated. The Congress has requested a majority of these seats, but the NCP(SP) and Sena (UBT) are also eyeing some of them.

Top leaders from all three parties have not been involved in the discussions so far, with negotiations being led by state-level leaders: Nana Patole for Congress, Sanjay Raut for Sena (UBT), and Jayant Patil for NCP(SP).

Last week, NCP(SP) leader Jitendra Awhad mentioned that the MVA is likely to finalise its seat-sharing agreement before Dussehra.