Mumbai: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has almost sealed its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, reaching consensus on 15 of the 17 seats, while talks continue over the politically crucial Nashik and Nanded constituencies. In contrast, the ruling Mahayuti alliance is yet to finalise its formula, with negotiations among BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP leaders still underway ahead of the June 1 nomination deadline.
After a key meeting of senior alliance leaders at Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in Mumbai, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal announced that the Congress will contest eight seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) four seats and NCP (SP) three seats in the biennial Legislative Council polls.
As per the formula finalised so far, Congress will contest Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Bhandara, Amravati, Ahilyanagar, Solapur and Dharashiv-Latur-Beed seats. NCP (SP) will field candidates from Pune, Thane and Sangli-Satara, while Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest Raigad, Jalgaon, Parbhani-Hingoli and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar seats.
However, discussions are still continuing between alliance partners over Nashik and Nanded, where a final consensus has not yet been reached.
The meeting was attended by senior MVA leaders including NCP (SP) working president and MP Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai, MLA Ambadas Danve, MLA Milind Narvekar and other senior functionaries from the three parties.
Launching a sharp attack on the ruling alliance, Sapkal alleged that the BJP-led Mahayuti was attempting to influence the elections through money power and poaching of opposition corporators.
“Corporators are being lured away and advance payments of Rs 5 lakh are being offered. The BJP-Mahayuti has turned a democratic election into a horse-trading market,” Sapkal alleged, claiming that even allies within the ruling coalition were trying to poach members from each other.
While the opposition alliance appears close to completing its electoral strategy, sources said discussions within the Mahayuti are still in the final stages, with 16 of the 17 seats broadly decided but the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna constituency emerging as a major sticking point.
According to sources, the BJP is likely to contest 10 or 11 seats, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena may contest four seats and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP two seats.
The BJP is expected to field candidates from Nagpur, Ahilyanagar, Dharashiv, Jalgaon, Solapur, Latur, Nanded, Amravati, Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli, Bhandara-Gondia and Sangli-Satara. Shiv Sena is likely to contest Thane, Yavatmal, Nashik and Parbhani-Hingoli, while the NCP may get Pune and one Konkan seat.
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Meanwhile, the Congress has appointed senior leaders as election observers for all 17 constituencies. Among those assigned responsibilities are MP Praniti Shinde for Solapur, former minister Vishwajeet Kadam for Sangli-Satara, senior leader Balasaheb Thorat for Ahilyanagar, MP Ravindra Chavan for Nanded and former minister Amit Deshmukh for Dharashiv-Latur-Beed.
Elections to the 17 Legislative Council seats will be held on June 18, while counting of votes will take place on June 22. June 1 is the last date for filing nominations, scrutiny will be conducted on June 2 and candidates can withdraw nominations till June 4.
The elections are being held due to the completion of the six-year term of sitting MLCs, with elected representatives of local self-government bodies forming the electorate.
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