MUMBAI: At a point when it appeared Maha Vikas Aghadi could be on the verge of collapse owing to lack of consensus over a seat-sharing formula for assembly polls, MVA's architect & NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar stepped in to draft an acceptable agreement.
Following a meeting of MPCC president Nana Patole, UBT Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, NCP (SP)'s Jayant Patil and CLP leader Balasaheb Thorat with Sharad Pawar, an understanding was reached on Wednesday evening over contesting 255 seats: Congress , NCP (SP) and UBT Sena would fight 85 each, while 18 seats would be left for smaller parties who are allies. There is still no call on 15 disputed seats - 3 in Mumbai & 12 in Vidarbha, but they will be distributed among MVA partners, sources said.
Maha formula a setback for Congress, says party neta
UBT Sena’s Sanjay Raut said following Sharad Pawar’s intervention, the process of drafting the seat-sharing formula was expedited as most candidates were in favour of filing nomination papers on Thursday as it is being seen as an auspicious day. Raut initially said at a press meet that consensus had been reached on 270 seats. Later he said, “I had said 270 seats, but it was 255.”
A senior Congress politician said the new formula is being seen as a major setback for Congress because on Tuesday, it had been informally agreed that Congress would contest 105 seats, NCP (SP) 84 and UBT Shiv Sena 95. “Since there was no end in sight to the negotiations, Congress decided to go some steps back and agreed on 85 seats. We are sure that we will improve on our Lok Sabha polls performance, and in addition, we expect to secure additional seats from the remaining 15,” the politician said.
As it appeared that no agreement could be reached, state Congress functionaries knocked at the doors of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, who summoned the Congress state functionaries to New Delhi for discussions.
Kharge then deployed Congress legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat to call on both Sharad Pawar and UBT Sena president Uddhav Thackeray to resolve the dispute. Accordingly, Thorat had a brief meeting with both Pawar and Thackeray, but even then the dispute was not resolved, after which Congress netas felt that it was time to exit from MVA and contest the polls separately.
NCP (SP) leadership took note of these developments and felt that if MVA does not contest elections jointly, Mahayuti is sure to retain power in the state. Pawar then spoke to Raut, Thorat and Thackeray and asked them to expedite matters and decide the seat-sharing formula on “as is where is” basis (meaning they should go ahead with what has been decided already) instead of discussing it on a seat-to-seat basis until the final seat is decided. However, notwithstanding Pawar’s words to the warring netas, the row over the 15 disputed seats remains unresolved.
Following a meeting of MPCC president Nana Patole, UBT Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, NCP (SP)'s Jayant Patil and CLP leader Balasaheb Thorat with Sharad Pawar, an understanding was reached on Wednesday evening over contesting 255 seats: Congress , NCP (SP) and UBT Sena would fight 85 each, while 18 seats would be left for smaller parties who are allies. There is still no call on 15 disputed seats - 3 in Mumbai & 12 in Vidarbha, but they will be distributed among MVA partners, sources said.
Maha formula a setback for Congress, says party neta
UBT Sena’s Sanjay Raut said following Sharad Pawar’s intervention, the process of drafting the seat-sharing formula was expedited as most candidates were in favour of filing nomination papers on Thursday as it is being seen as an auspicious day. Raut initially said at a press meet that consensus had been reached on 270 seats. Later he said, “I had said 270 seats, but it was 255.”
A senior Congress politician said the new formula is being seen as a major setback for Congress because on Tuesday, it had been informally agreed that Congress would contest 105 seats, NCP (SP) 84 and UBT Shiv Sena 95. “Since there was no end in sight to the negotiations, Congress decided to go some steps back and agreed on 85 seats. We are sure that we will improve on our Lok Sabha polls performance, and in addition, we expect to secure additional seats from the remaining 15,” the politician said.
As it appeared that no agreement could be reached, state Congress functionaries knocked at the doors of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, who summoned the Congress state functionaries to New Delhi for discussions.
Kharge then deployed Congress legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat to call on both Sharad Pawar and UBT Sena president Uddhav Thackeray to resolve the dispute. Accordingly, Thorat had a brief meeting with both Pawar and Thackeray, but even then the dispute was not resolved, after which Congress netas felt that it was time to exit from MVA and contest the polls separately.
NCP (SP) leadership took note of these developments and felt that if MVA does not contest elections jointly, Mahayuti is sure to retain power in the state. Pawar then spoke to Raut, Thorat and Thackeray and asked them to expedite matters and decide the seat-sharing formula on “as is where is” basis (meaning they should go ahead with what has been decided already) instead of discussing it on a seat-to-seat basis until the final seat is decided. However, notwithstanding Pawar’s words to the warring netas, the row over the 15 disputed seats remains unresolved.
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