Maharashtra: MVA to bargain hard for assembly seats?

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents are likely to bargain hard for Maharashtra assembly election seats after their performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) – the alliance partners in MVA – won 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress emerged as the largest party with 13 seats out of 17 seats it contested, followed by Uddhav Thackeray’s party winning nine of 21 seats and Sharad Pawar’s NCP emerging winner on 10 out of eight seats.

Even though seat-sharing talks have not yet started, with the assembly elections likely to be held in October, all the three parties who recently vowed to fight together, are looking to get maximum seats based on their Lok Sabha performance.

Sanjay Raut, the Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP said that all are equal stakeholders in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, adding, “The MVA contested the Lok Sabha polls unitedly and showed to the world how Maharashtra stopped the BJP from getting a full majority.”

His remark gained significance with the NCP saying that the situation in assembly polls would be different as compared to Lok Sabha where they contested fewer seats.

“Seat-sharing talks have not yet commenced. So the question of who will contest how many seats doesn’t arise. All are equal stakeholders.We will meet after the monsoon session,” said Raut.

Raut stated that his party’s candidates in two-three seats lost by a thin margin, else its strike rate too would have been better.

The Sena (UBT) leader added that there are 288 (assembly) seats in the state and there will be no shortage of seats for anyone (to contest). “Everyone will contest comfortably,” added Raut.

On Friday, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar held meetings with the party’s functionaries from Pune, as well as its MLAs and newly-elected MPs.

Meanwhile, state Congress chief Nana Patole has also said that his party expects a good seat-sharing deal in the assembly polls.