Maharashtra Opposition Seat Deal Finalised, Congress To Contest 18 Seats

The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra has settled on a seat-share deal for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, sources told NDTV Friday morning. A formal announcement is likely in 48 hours.

According to sources, the Shiv Sena faction led by ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will contest 20 of the state's 48 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress will contest 18 and the Nationalist Congress Party unit led by Sharad Pawar will field candidates for the other 10.

Regional parties like the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi will receive two seats from the Sena (UBT)'s share and an independent candidate, Raju Shetty, will receive a ticket from Mr Pawar's share.

Sources also said the Sena (UBT) will contest four of six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, one of which - possibly the Mumbai North East seat - could be given to the VBA.

The MVA's seat-share accord represents another big step forward for the INDIA opposition bloc that is trying to tie-up agreements as quickly as possible, given the election is due in a few weeks.

The Congress-led group - established in June last year for the express purpose of defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party - has struggled to close deals, with state parties pushing the national outfit to secure a larger share of seats in each instance.

The Congress' dismal electoral record over the past decade - in particular its poor showing in 2014 and 2019, in which combined it won fewer than 100 seats - has made its job that much harder, with Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party riding the alliance to near-breaking point in Uttar Pradesh.

In Bengal, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress even severed all talks with the Congress after it continued to negotiate her 'final' offer of two seats - the same (and only) two it won last time.

There have, since, been big boosts for INDIA.

An agreement was struck by the Congress and Samajwadi Party for a 17:63 split of UP's 80 seats, and the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party closed a pan-India accord.

The turning point, many believe, was the Congress-AAP's dramatic win in last month's Chandigarh mayoral election. The INDIA allies contested together and emerged victorious, even if they needed the intervention of the Supreme Court to counter the Returning Officer's "murder of democracy".