Ganesh Kendale
MUMBAI: The still-unresolved row between Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) in the Maha Vikas Aghadi is over 15 assembly seats, three of them in Mumbai and 12 in eastern Vidarbha. As both parties are claiming these seats, NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, UBT Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and AICC general secretary Ramesh Chennithala are set to meet on Tuesday to try and find a solution.
More than a dozen meetings have been held by the MVA over seat-sharing but there is no end to the stalemate over these 15 seats, sources said.The three seats in Mumbai claimed by both Congress and UBT Sena are Byculla, Bandra East and Versova. Among the ones in Vidarbha are Ramtek, Gondia, South Nagpur, Bhandara and Gadchiroli.
MPCC president Nana Patole said discussion on 96 seats allotted to Congress is complete, and Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray will meet on Tuesday for further discussions on the seat-sharing formula.
According to the understanding among MVA partners, NCP (SP) is likely to contest 80 seats, while UBT Shiv Sena will contest nearly 90 and the remaining – the highest number – will be allotted to the Congress.
Despite the sharp exchange of words between Patole and UBT Sena MP Sanjay Raut last week over the seats under dispute, the MPCC president on Monday claimed there are no disagreements within MVA over seat allocation.Patole said there is absolutely no substance in some reports which have said that UBT Sena is all set to quit MVA. He alleged BJP was deliberately spreading such “rumours and misinformation” about the opposition parties. “The MVA is intact, there is no truth in such reports. The MVA is determined to dislodge the Mahayuti govt led by Eknath Shinde. We are sure the BJP will face a crushing defeat in the assembly elections,” he said.
