Maha Vikas Aghadi says no dispute, seat-sharing talks to be completed tonight

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dismissed speculation of a rift within its partners and insisted that everything was well and stated that seat-sharing for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls would be announced soon.

In Short

• Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut says Samajwadi is backing Maha Vikas Aghadi
• Congress and Sena (UBT) say seat division will be done by tonight
• Earlier, Sharad Pawar said MVA reached agreement on 200 Assembly seats

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Saturday insisted that there were no differences between its partners in seat-sharing for the upcoming Assembly polls and said that talks on finalising the seats would be completed by tonight.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said that the Samajwadi Party was with the MVA and talks were held between its chief Akhilesh Yadav and Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. He also said talks on ironing out remaining differences between MVA allies would begin at 3 pm today.

"Ramesh Chennithala (Congress in-charge for Maharashtra) had come to Matoshree (Uddhav Thackeray's home) and we had discussions in the presence of Uddhav Thackeray. The discussions which had been paused for two days, will resume today at 3 pm," he told reporters.

"We have decided that by late night, the discussions will be completed and our seat sharing will be finalised. The Samajwadi Party is with us and yesterday, talks were held between Uddhav Thackeray and Akhilesh Yadav," he said.

At the same time, Sanjay Raut said that seat-sharing talks between his party and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) had concluded as these two parties were driven by a desire and mindset to resolve issues.

His remarks were apparently targeted at the third MVA partner, Congress, a day after he expressed disappointment over the delay in the seat-sharing talks in the alliance and accused the Maharashtra Congress leaders of being incapable of making decisions.

Amid an impasse over seat-sharing talks, Uddhav Thackeray on Friday cautioned that haggling among allies, particularly the Congress, must not be allowed to reach a breaking point.

Nana Patole declined to respond to Sanjay Raut's remarks but said the seat-sharing committees were formed so that party leaders can inform their respective chiefs about the progress of talks.

"Sanjay Raut's leader is Uddhav Thackeray. Our leaders are Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi and the leader of the NCP (SP) is Sharad Pawar. In the seat-sharing committee, neither Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Ji, Mallikarjun Kharge nor Rahul Gandhi remain present. But the committee has been formed at the orders of these leaders," he said.

"Our responsibility is to update our leader. If Sanjay Raut is controlling Uddhav Ji, it is their issue. Telling the reality to our leaders is our responsibility and we are doing that. We do not want to speak anything on what Sanjay Raut does," he added.

Meanwhile, Ramesh Chennithala, Congress in-charge for Maharashtra, said there were no differences between MVA allies and said alliance leaders will work together on division of seats today.

"MVA has no differences and we are together in this. We will have discussions on seat sharing again at 3 pm today. Nana Patole, Sanjay Raut, and Jayant Patil will work on seat division today," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) arrived at a consensus on 200 Assembly seats for the polls, news agency PTI reported.

The MVA comprises the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and the NCP helmed by Sharad Pawar. This will be the first Assembly election in the state after the Shiv Sena and NCP parties split in June 2022 and July 2023, respectively.

Assembly election for 288 seats in Maharashtra will be held on November 20, while the counting of votes will take place on November 23.

(with inputs from agencies)