Maharashtra assembly elections: MVA seat-sharing talks from Sept 18-20, says Shiv Sena (UBT)

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies will hold seat-sharing talks for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra from September 18-20. Assembly elections in the state are likely to be held in the second week of November. 

Raut told reporters that during these talks, discussions will be there on the seats to be contested and the formula once decided during this meeting will be considered final. The MVA alliance comprises Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) and the Congress. 

"Talks on seat-sharing among MVA partners will be held from September 18 to 20. The meeting will be held for three consecutive days. The formula of which party will contest which seats will be decided and it will be final," newswire PTI quoted Raut as saying. 

Furthermore, Raut said that the seats will be decided on the basis of the winnability of the candidates. In the country's maximum state, the Congress has 162 weak seats, half of which are in Western Maharashtra and Thane-Konkan.

Here, the Congress will have to leave it to the NCP (SCP) and Shiv Sena (UBT). Half of NCP (SCP)'s weak seats are in Vidarbha, Thane-Konkan and Mumbai whereas half of Shiv Sena (UBT)'s weak seats are in Vidarbha and Western Maharashtra.

When questioned on the Congress and NCP (SCP) performing better than SS (UBT) in the Lok Sabha polls, Raut said his party's votes were transferred to the two parties in a big way. He added that the Shiv Sena (UBT) ceded seats it traditionally contested such as Ramtek, Kolhapur and Amravati to the Congress. 

Furthermore, he mentioned that if the Shiv Sena (UBT) had these seats, it would have won them for sure. He also said that SS (UBT) workers worked hard for the NCP (SCP), including for the seat of Baramati. 

Given their performance in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the NCP (SCP) and SS (UBT) will not leave their claim of the 33 and 57 seats they were leading in, in the general polls.