The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies on Tuesday said they had reached agreement on the sharing of most of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, and the final meeting will be held on Wednesday. Leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar met in Mumbai, newswire PTI reported.

“We have agreement on most constituencies. Tomorrow will be the final meeting and the deal will be sealed and announced by senior leaders of the MVA,” state Congress chief Nana Patole told reporters.

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) leader Prakash Ambedkar had been asked to give his proposal which will be discussed in his presence on Wednesday, said Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut. “We will contest elections to win all 48 seats,” he added.

Patole said people have faith in the MVA as the governments at the Centre and the state have failed to address the issues of unemployment and inflation.

Meanwhile, on February 20, NCP founder Sharad Pawar said members of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have arrived at a consensus on contesting 39 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. He said more rounds of discussions will be held for the remaining five to six constituencies, newswire PTI reported.

Pawar was speaking to reporters in Kolhapur after meeting Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, a member of the erstwhile royal family.

The veteran politician virtually proposed the candidature of Shahu Maharaj in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections 2024 as the MVA nominee.

Queried on the status of seat-sharing discussions among the Opposition parties, Pawar said, “There is consensus on 39 seats. We will hold discussions for the rest 5 to 6 seats”. Pawar said he had not yet spoken to other allies- Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), and Congress- about Shahu Maharaj`s candidature. “I will be glad to see him contesting the Lok Sabha elections. He has been doing social work for a long time, which aligns with social reformers late Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and B R Ambedkar,” he added.

Pawar said Shahu Maharaj generally stays away from political events, but he has been actively participating in social events and programmes.

In the 2019 general elections, the BJP and Shiv Sena (undivided) won 41 out of 48 seats they had contested jointly in Maharashtra. The Nationalist Congress Party (undivided) and the Congress collectively won only 5 seats. 

However, the political landscape has changed since 2019 in view of vertical splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP, whereas the BJP is consolidating its base by inducting disgruntled leaders from rival parties. (With inputs from PTI)

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