Ganeshotsav over, MVA immerses into seat-sharing talks for Maha polls

Mumbai, Sep 18 (IANS) After the 11-day-long Ganeshotsav ended, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has started a mega round of seat-sharing talks for the Maharashtra Assembly elections which are due to be announced shortly, party leaders said here on Wednesday.

The MVA allies, Congress-NCP (SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT) are eyeing to bag the maximum share of the 288 seats which will be up for grabs, besides doling out a few to the smaller partners in the alliance.

As anticipated, the Congress which emerged at the top of the heap in the state during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls is likely to bid for around 125-130 seats, followed by SS (UBT) settling for some 90-100 seats and NCP (SP) getting in the range of 75-80 seats, with a few seats expected to be given to smaller allies.

Contrary to speculation that the three partners would contest the maximum number of seats in their respective strongholds, there will be substantial ‘give-and-take’ this time as the state political scenario has undergone a drastic change since 2019.

So far, the top leaders of the MVA have held several rounds of talks on the seat-sharing formula, the final picture could emerge in the next three days of crucial negotiations, said a Mumbai Congress leader on Wednesday.

The discussions would be critical for places like Mumbai, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Konkan, Western Maharashtra, Vidarbha and all parties are gearing up to claim a maximum share there and also ‘deliver’ by way of wins.

There are also apprehensions of a tug-of-war over certain Assembly seats – akin to the tussle witnessed for the LS polls in Sangli, Kolhapur or Bhiwandi seats – and the parties are confident that they will iron out the differences amicably, as the state prepares for the forthcoming Navratri and Diwali festivities.

As a strategy to avoid such a situation recurring this time, the MVA has also carried out district-level joint coordination meetings to prevent a split in the votes and also ensure that the votes are transferred to the combined MVA candidates, he added.

With Chief Minister Eknath Shinde recently indicating that the polls are likely to be held around mid-November, hectic political activities have started even in the ruling Mahayuti coalition besides others like the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), and formidable pressure groups like the Marathas.