Mumbai seats becomes the bone of contention in Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance

Mumbai: As the seat-sharing talks among the Maha Vikas Aghadi partners - Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) progressed - the seats of Mumbai seems to be becoming a bone of contention among the three allies. 

Mumbai accounts for the 36 seats of the total 288 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. 

In the Lok Sabha elections, of the six seats, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (INDIA) won four seats while the Maha Yuti (NDA) managed two seats as BJP suffered a jolt in Maharashtra.  

The newly-elected four MVA MPs are: Arvind Sawant (Mumbai South), Anil Desai (Mumbai South Central), Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North-East), all from Shiv Sena (UBT) and Prof Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (Mumbai North Central) of the Congress. 

The two Maha Yuti MPs are Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North) of BJP and Ravindra Waikar of Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde.

Out of the 36 seats of the financial capital of Mumbai, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has staked a claim over 20 to 25 seats, while the Congress wants to contest at least 15 to 20 seats, and the NCP (SP) wants seven to 10 seats. 

Besides, MVA allies also need to be accommodated like the Samajwadi Party. 

Also the MVA is factoring any possible movements from Maha Vikas Aghadi to Maha Yuti.

Some seats would be exchanged and winnability and elective merit would be the key factor. 

Thackeray’s close aide Sanjay Raut has claimed that seat sharing in Mumbai is 99 per cent done, however, the Congress and NCP (SP) have rejected it. 

The three parties are also planning a series of election meetings in Mumbai.

In 2019 Assembly polls, the undivided Shiv Sena had won 14 seats in the city, Congress won 4, undivided NCP 1, and SP 1 seat.

Now, Uddhav's faction has 8 MLAs, and Shinde's faction has 6 in Mumbai.