Winnability to be key factor for seat-sharing among MVA partners: Congress

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), is already in the poll and campaign mode, having held a joint meeting of their office-bearers on August 16, state Congress working president Naseem Khan said.

Mumbai: A Congress leader on Sunday said winnability would be the main criteria for seat-sharing among the MVA constituents for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls and it will be worked out amicably at the earliest.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), is already in the poll and campaign mode, having held a joint meeting of their office-bearers on August 16, state Congress working president Naseem Khan told PTI.

"Winnability would the basis for seat-sharing among the allies and it will be worked out amicably at the earliest," he said.

"The Lok Sabha poll results will surely be replicated in the assembly elections," Khan said, expressing confidence of the MVA's victory.

He claimed that false promises and fake narrative of the ruling 'Mahayuti' (comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP) have been exposed.

"Development has reduced and corruption has increased during their tenure. The state government has worked to weaken Mumbai and Maharashtra, farmers suicides have gone up," he charges.

People are upset with the government, Khan claimed.

The MVA constituents have declared to contest the Maharashtra assembly polls together.

A meeting of the MVA allies was held on August 16 in which Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray demanded the alliance declare its chief ministerial face in advance without waiting for the scorecard of each constituent in the assembly elections, due in October-November.

The MVA trounced the Mahayuti alliance in the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year by bagging 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, with the BJP losing 14 constituencies of the 23 it won in 2019.

On August 20, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray will participate in a programme to be organised in Mumbai by the state Congress to mark the birth anniversary of former prime minister late Rajiv Gandhi.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge will also attend the programme, to be held at the Shanmukhananda Hall here.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who was invited for the event, will not be able to attend it due to prior engagements, Khan said.

Mumbai is the birthplace of Rajiv Gandhi. He ushered in the IT and telecom revolution and lowered the voting age to 18 years, said Khan, who was recently nominated to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) as a special invitee.