Among the 288 seats, 36 are in Mumbai and around 65 in the larger Mumbai metropolitan region.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: With little more than a fortnight left for announcement of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A) Opposition bloc will hold a mega-round of seat-sharing talk to overcome the differences and prepare for the final deal.
The elections to the 288-member Vidhan Sabha are expected around mid-November.
The Congress, which emerged as the number one party in Maharashtra during the Lok Sabha polls, have pitched for 120-130 seats.
The Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) pitched in for 90-100 seats while the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) is likely to contest 75-80 seats in the coming elections.
“Situation in Maharashtra has changed since the 2019 Vidhan Sabha polls. Only the result cannot be the criteria for seat-sharing. There would be a lot of adjustments that would happen in the days to come,” Maha Vikas Aghadi sources told Deccan Herald.
The Congress team comprising of AICC general secretary Ramesh Chennithala, state Congress president Nana Patole, Congress legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, state Congress working president, Thackeray and his aide Sanjay Raut and Pawar had held several rounds of discussions.
“The idea is to avoid tussles like Kolhapur, Sangli, Bhiwandi and seats of Mumbai which were witnessed in the Lok Sabha polls,” the sources said.
Among the 288 seats, 36 are in Mumbai and around 65 in the larger Mumbai metropolitan region. “There is a lot of give and take that is going to happen in the Mumbai-MMR and this would have a bearing in the rest of Maharashtra,” the sources said.
Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarujun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have launched the Congress campaign from Sangli.
The MVA has also held joint coordination meetings at district level to avoid any confusion. "We have to ensure that at ground level votes get transferred to allies. Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls are completely different," the sources said.