Amid struggles, seat-sharing divides MVA as Uddhav Sena, state Congress spar

Raut first made the seat-sharing claim on Friday, drawing sharp reactions from both MVA partners. “When we were in alliance with the BJP, we always contested 23 seats and won 17-18 of them,” he said at the time.

The MP claimed local Congress leaders did not have the power to take a call on seat-sharing and hence discussions were being held with the party’s high command in Delhi. “Uddhavji, Aaditya Thackeray and myself were at the meeting (of the INDIA bloc). We share a good rapport with Congress leaders and discussed many things, including seat-sharing. We will deal only with them,” he said.

The Lok Sabha elections are being seen as a litmus test for the MVA, whose three constituents unexpectedly forged an alliance after the 2019 Assembly elections to keep the BJP away from power. But the NCP led by Sharad Pawar and the Shiv Sena (UBT) have been dented by the splits and are left with only a handful of MLAs following rebellions led by Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde, respectively. Of the 18 MPs that were elected to Lok Sabha on an undivided Sena ticket, 12 have jumped ship and joined hands with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Senma. Though the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP has been hit hard by its state legislators mostly siding with Ajit, three of the party’s four Lok Sabha MPs have remained with Pawar Senior.

Raut seemed undeterred by the exits and claimed that those who had left Uddhav would forfeit their deposits. The MP said in 2019 the party had only the BJP as an ally but now the party has the support of the NCP and Congress besides the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA).

“All top leaders of these parties, including those from the INDIA bloc, will campaign for our candidates … Imagine the turnout when such stars descend on Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena (UBT) is on a strong footing. We will prove our mettle this time too,”’ Raut said, adding, “’I don’t know about the other two (allies), but we have found strong replacements for those who “flew away” to rival camps. Our new tigers will roar on the poll terrain.”

The Rajya Sabha MP said there was no question of accepting less than 23 seats as the Sena (UBT) had merit. “However, the final seat-sharing will be decided after holding discussions with top Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal,” he added.

The Sena’s bid to sideline state leaders has not gone down well with the Congress. “The issue of seat-sharing cannot become a subject of controversy. We will go by merit in terms of allotting seats to each constituent of the MVA. Our top brass, including Kharge and Rahul, will hold discussions with local leaders and decide on seat-sharing. How can the question of seat-sharing even arise when initial discussions have not been held? This is an attempt by our rivals to drive a wedge between us,” said Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Waddetiwar.

The state Congress, on the other hand, said it was keen on contesting 25-26 seats. “Our survey shows we are in a good position in 24 seats and may win 17-18 seats,” claimed state Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe. Londhe also reminded Raut of its oft-repeated claim of winnability. “The Sena has said winnability should be the criterion for allotting seats and this is the MVA’s underlying principle. Raut to stick to his words,” he said.

The Congress, which is looking for a turnaround in its electoral fortunes in 2024, won a lone seat in 2019 and two in 2014. “Earlier, only the NCP was our ally and now the Shiv Sena, which was a key ally of the BJP, is with us. This works in our favour. We are strong across the state while the NCP and the Sena are influential in pockets,” Londhe said.

Meanwhile, Baramati MP and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule said preliminary discussions on seat-sharing would be held while a final decision would be taken by top leaders of the parties