MVA seat-sharing tussle: Uddhav Sena may have to settle with 90 seats, down from 124 in 2019

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is struggling to clinch the seat-sharing deal for assembly elections in Maharashtra as Congress and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena are claiming more seats in Vidarbha, and Mumbai. While Congress considers Vidarbha its own stronghold, Shiv Sena is adamant on more seats in the region. Sources told India Today that Sena (UBT) is demanding 12 seats in Vidarbha. Currently, there's not a single MLA of the MVA in the region. The tussle is also on a few seats in Mumbai.

Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said the talks are complete on 96 seats and he will soon meet NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Udhav Thackrey to hold discussions on the remaining 40 seats. The majority of seats that are yet to be decided are in Vidarbha and Mumbai. 

Shiv Sena (UBT) is claiming 12 seats in Vidarbha that Congress and NCP could not win in the last two elections. However, the Congress leaders have argued that they may not have won these seats in the last elections but these constituencies have historically elected grand old party candidates. 

Also, the Congress is claiming 18 of 36 seats in Mumbai, which Sena (UBT) considers its own bastion. In the last polls, the Congress contested 6 seats and NCP 30 in Mumbai. Earlier, it was reported that Sena was pushing for 20-22 seats in Mumbai. If Congress gets 18 seats in Mumbai, Sena will not even get 18 seats as NCP will also have to be given a few seats. 

Sources told India Today that Uddhav Sena may get 90 seats, fewer than what it was bargaining for and contested in 2019. In the last assembly elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) contested 124 seats -- 31 in Western Maharashtra, 12 in Vidarbha, 20 in Marathwada, 26 in Thane-Konkan, 19 in Mumbai, and 15 in North Maharashtra.

In July this year, it was reported that Shiv Sena (UBT) was aiming to contest around 115 to 125 of 288 seats. Sources had told India Today that Sena (UBT) would demand these 125 constituencies based on previous vote margins in these seats. The party would also categorise these constituencies into A, B, and C levels based on the votes they got in these constituencies in the previous Assembly elections.

AICC in-charge of state Ramesh Chennithala said the MVA constituents would meet on Tuesday to finalise the seat-sharing deal. He said the Congress' Central Election Committee deliberated the names of nominees for 63 seats. "Tomorrow there will be a meeting of the MVA at 3 PM in Mumbai where we will finalise all seats and then there will be a meeting of CEC on October 25. Today, we took up 63 seats in the meeting and discussed them," Chennithala told reporters after the CEC meeting. 

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said the MVA has done the screening process for 96 seats. "There will be a screening committee meeting on October 25 and on the same day CEC will be held and everything will be finalised. Tomorrow, Balasaheb Thorat will speak with Uddhav ji and Sharad Pawar ji," he said. Earlier, Patole had said the issue among MVA constituents was on 30-40 seats. 

Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut said the MVA had arrived at a consensus on 210 of the 288 Maharashtra assembly seats.