Maha parties woo independents who might play kingmakers
NCP-SP Maharashtra state president Jayant Patil and Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat have already begun contacting many independent candidates, just in case the MVA falls short of a majority.
A day after Congress leaders met NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance is believed to have resolved the seat-sharing impasse for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly election.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday said there is no issue over seat-sharing within the MVA, adding that the complete list of Shiv Sena (UBT) candidates will be released by 4 pm.
He said the delay in announcing the list was due to the alliance’s focus on selecting best candidates to form the next government.
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“There is no seat-sharing formula issue within the Maha Vikas Aghadi,” Raut said. “The MVA’s list got delayed because we are going to form the government. Others are going to sit in the opposition. We will come to power, so we have to choose candidates and seats very carefully. Our complete list will be released by 4 pm today.”
Denying any rift among the alliance partners, he added, “The work was almost completed last night. There are no disputes or differences among us. Everything is going on well.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Maharashtra Congress leaders held a meeting with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SCP) chief Sharad Pawar.
Following the meeting, senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat had expressed optimism, stating, “The impasse will soon be resolved. Those seats (on which there are differences) are not too many…We have time…We will do this quickly.”
According to reports, seat-sharing talks among the MVA alliance partners, particularly between the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT), reached at a dificult point as both parties struggled to find a common ground on key constituencies.
After meeting Pawar, Thorat and other Congress leaders also met Uddhav Thackeray to discuss the constituencies where consensus could not be built.
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