NEW DELHI: There is no confusion over seat sharing between the Maha Vikas Aghadi partners - the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena (UBT) - in Maharashtra for the 2024
Lok Sabha elections
. NCP MP
Supriya Sule
on Monday said the three parties have agreed upon a broad formula and a formal declaration will be made.
"There was a meeting between Sonia Gandhi, Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar in Delhi 15 days ago.
A lot of things about seat sharing were clarified in that meeting. A formal announcement will be made later,” Sule, who is the daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, said.
There was unease among
MVA
partners after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader
Sanjay Raut
's remarks last week staked claim to 23 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Raut later claried that there was no tussle over seat sharing in the state. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray also said he won't do anything that would hurt the MVA.
And while Maharashtra partners may eventually find a solution, the road ahead for the INDIA bloc will not be easy in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and the state unit of the Congress are bitter critics of each other.
Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh had on Sunday accused the Bengal Congress of playing the role of broker for the BJP.
"There is a clear difference between the Delhi Congress and the Bengal Congress. In Delhi Congress, Sonia ji, Rahul ji. They are eager to get cooperation from the Trinamool Congress to make a solid
INDIA Alliance
. But in Bengal, the state Congress is playing the role of Dalal of the BJP," Ghosh had said.
Mamata Banerjee had last week made it clear that it was only her party that had the potential to challenge the BJP in West Bengal. "INDIA alliance will be there across the country. In Bengal, the TMC will fight and defeat the BJP. Remember, in Bengal, only TMC can teach a lesson to the BJP and not any other party," Mamata said at a gathering in Bengal.
The CPM, which is an ally of the Congress in West Bengal, has made it clear that it will The CPM in West Bengal has made it clear that it will stand stand a "thousand miles away from those showing any weakness for the BJP or the Trinamool Congress."
At the fourth meeting of opposition's INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc, some parties had proposed December 31, 2023 deadline to finalise seat sharing. However, that deadline is already over.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had Several parties that have joined hands at the national level are political rivals in the states. And that makes seat-sharing talks complicated.
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