Mumbai: While the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners are still struggling over seat-sharing arrangements in Mumbai and Maharashtra, the Mahayuti alliance seems to have nearly resolved the issue at least for Mumbai.
Reports suggest that the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde is set to contest 15 assembly seats in the city, while three seats have been offered to the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), with the BJP expected to field candidates for the remaining 18 seats.
Former Dharavi MP Rahul Shewale, who is involved in the seat-sharing talks, confirmed, “Shiv Sena will contest 90 seats across Maharashtra, including 15 seats in Mumbai. We will contest constituencies such as Magathane, Dahisar, Jogeshwari, Byculla, Kurla, Chembur, Anushakti Nagar, Kalina, Andheri East, and Dadar-Mahim.”
He also informed that winnability is the criteria of Mahayuti in seat sharing discussion. Sitting MLAs have more chances to get the seat in their constituency, he added.
A couple of days ago, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said Shinde should be willing to make ‘sacrifices’, in terms of seat-sharing for the assembly polls, like the BJP has done to keep the alliance intact. “Chief Minister Eknath Shinde must remain open-minded. We, too, have made sacrifices to uphold the alliance. It is evident that the BJP aims to contest the seats we previously held,” he added.
On the other hand, the MVA has reached a consensus on 33 out of 36 assembly seats in Mumbai. Under the agreement, the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray-led Shiv Sena will contest 18 seats, the Congress will field candidates in 15 seats, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar) will contest two seats, with one seat being left for the Samajwadi Party. However, discussions remain unresolved over three key constituencies such as Kurla, Byculla, and Anushakti Nagar.
Meanwhile, Aaditya Thackeray has also called a meeting of 15 sitting MLAs of UBT at Matoshree on Thursday evening and directed them to start campaigning in their constituencies. Both the alliances have not made any revelation of their candidates list yet.
Speaking to the media on the MVA seat sharing, Congress leader Atul Londhe Patil said, “The adjustment on 260 seats was completed yesterday night. Party high command and our leader Rahul Gandhi will resolve the issues on the remaining seats soon.”
