Maharashtra Assembly Polls 2024: MVA allies to contest 85 seats each

The alliance has allotted 18 seats for their smaller allies in total while negotiations continue over 15 more seats.

Mumbai: After days of confusion, friction and war-of-words, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has managed to reach a formula of 85-85-85 seats even as discussions were underway over candidates to field from 15 more seats. 

Of the 288 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the MVA principal allies — Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) — will contest a total of 270 seats. The alliance has allotted 18 seats for their smaller allies. 

The seat-sharing formula covers a total of 255 seats. The decision on the remaining 15 seats will happen on Thursday.

The seat-sharing arrangement was announced at a joint press conference by state Congress President Nana Patole, his NCP counterpart Jayant Patil and Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut. 

The talks over the past couple of months had reached a breaking point several times, however, Pawar, the chief architect of the MVA, intervened and drove home the importance of staying united before the state polls.

“We have decided to split the seats as per 85-85-85 formula and for the remaining 15 seats, we want to hold discussions with our alliance partners. That would be announced in a day. We have decided to allot 18 seats for smaller allies,” Patole said. 

The announcement comes a couple of days after AICC general secretary Ramesh Chennithala asked Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat to personally go and  meet Pawar and Thackeray. Separately, Thackeray’s son, Aaditya Thackeray, too met Pawar.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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