Rahul Gandhi speaks to Uddhav Thackeray as seat-sharing talks reach a deadlock

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reportedly contacted Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray as talks concerning Lok Sabha seat allocation reached a deadlock. This comes after a previous conversation between Gandhi and NCP head Sharad Pawar on reaching an agreement on seat-sharing. Sources indicate that there is no advancement in eight of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra. 

Maharashtra Congress has seen a number of key leaders departing recently, leading to a pause in seat-sharing discussions within the opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). 

Both the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) are contesting for seats including Ramtek, Hingoli, Jalna, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai South-Central, Shirdi, Bhiwandi, and Wardha.

A scheduled meeting for further discussions in Mumbai on February 22 was postponed to February 27 due to the unavailability of senior leaders. Other parties including Raju Shetti's Swabhimani Shetkari Party, the Samajwadi Party, and Left parties are negotiating their participation in the ongoing seat distribution process.

Prakash Ambedkar, chief of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), however, is in disagreement with the MVA, asserting that the allied parties are not reaching a consensus on seat distribution. Ambedkar has announced that he will present his proposal once the MVA finalises their seat-sharing with a common minimum program for smooth functioning of the alliance.

Talks of division in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) over seat allocation have been dismissed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Member of Parliament, Sanjay Raut. Raut maintains the party's intention to contest 23 seats across the state, with four of those in Mumbai, leaving two for their allies. He is optimistic about reaching a consensus in the upcoming meeting. 

Contrarily, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole stated that despite Raut's assertions, the final distribution of seats will only be finalised after discussions between Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar. 

Currently, the proposed seat-sharing formula within the MVA is: Congress to contest 14 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) 15 (including one each for the VBA and Swabhimani Party), NCP 9, with 8 seats remaining in dispute.