The Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) talks over seat-sharing for the coming Maharashtra polls has hit a hurdle, with both parties reaching out to NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar to try break the deadlock. After the Sena (UBT) threatened to walk out of the talks if state Congress chief Nana Patole participated in them, the Congress Sunday cancelled its Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting to finalise candidates. A senior Congress leader, who is a key negotiator in the talks, told The Indian Express that the demands raised by the Thackeray camp were “unreasonable” and “difficult to accept”. So what is holding up the negotiations? Here are five factors: The Vidarbha tangle Sources said the Sena (UBT) has proposed a 100:100:88 seat-sharing formula for itself, Congress and the NCP (SP) respectively. “Smaller allies and other parties could be accommodated from each party’s share,” a Sena (UBT) leader said. The leader said Patole wanted 125 seats for the Congress and refused to concede seats to the Sena (UBT) in Vidarbha, leading to a showdown between him and Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut at a meeting last week. According to sources, the Sena (UBT) sought seats where the Congress has a strong presence - Ramtek and Dhamangaon Railway. Or where it won in 2019 - Warora in Chandrapur, Daryapur in Amaravati, Bandra East and Nagpur South. Sena (UBT)’s LS ‘sacrifice’ The Sena (UBT) feels it sacrificed two Lok Sabha seats in Vidharbha – Ramtek and Amaravati – for the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls to honour “alliance dharma”, and now wants the grand old party to return the favour for the coming polls. However, the Sena (UBT) has been told that it does not have strong candidates in the seats and will have to rely on imports. The Congress also pointed out that it had not sought a single seat in the Konkan belt, seen to be a Sena stronghold, as winnability should be the only criterion for seat-sharing. The Patole factor Sources said that Patole’s "aggressive" behaviour at a meeting last week did not go down well with the Sena (UBT), which claimed it was unnecessary. The Maharashtra Congress chief’s demand for a seat in Nashik City also reportedly irked the Sena, which led to the Patole-Raut showdown and an inconclusive end to the meeting. Raut later threatened to stop talks if Patole took part in them. The Congress, however, said its state chief cannot be kept out of negotiations. Sena's demand According to the Congress, the Sena (UBT) was pulling more than its weight by seeking 100 seats while its strength was limited to 80-85 seats. The grand old party feels giving them 15-20 seats more will reduce its chances of winning them and increasing its tally. The Matoshree meeting The Congress claims it was caught unawares by the “urgent meeting” called by Uddhav Thackeray at his residence on Sunday, "forcing" it to cancel its own Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting. It went to ask its Maharashtra leadership to stay back in Delhi, virtually ruling out seat-sharing talks for two days.
