The Maha Vikas Aghadi of Opposition parties in poll-bound Maharashtra has reached consensus on 210 of the 288 assembly seats in the state. Terming the progress a "significant achievement", Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said on Monday, adding that the alliance aims to ensure the defeat of “forces looting Maharashtra”.
"We have arrived at a consensus on 210 seats. It is a significant achievement. We aim to contest polls as a joint force and we will defeat the forces looting Maharashtra," Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP and key strategist for the Shiv Sena (UBT), told reporters.
The MVA comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), the NCP (Sharad Pawar) and Congress. The ruling Mahayuti, on the other hand, is an alliance of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, the BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
Raut's comments came after several media reports claimed that the Uddhav-led Shiv Sena may break away from the MVA and contest all 288 seats on its own.
The past few days have seen hectic parleys among the three main opposition parties to finalise a seat-sharing deal, with speculation doing the rounds of the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) not being on the same page.
The statement from Raut also comes amid speculation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s phone conversation with him, hinting at the Shiv Sena (UBT) and BJP, which were allies for decades before going their separate ways in 2019, getting back together.
The BJP and the Shiv Sena broke their alliance after the 2019 assembly polls with the latter accusing the BJP of going back on a promise to share the chief ministerial tenure. The BJP has routinely denied any such agreement.
Asked about the phone conversation, Raut said, "The BJP is feeding false news. We know who is doing it. The party fears loss in the assembly polls so is spreading misinformation." Raut said the BJP engineered a split in the Shiv Sena (in June 2022), brought down Thackeray's MVA government and also ensured the party name and symbol went to the rebel faction led by Eknath Shinde.
"The worst the BJP did was to give the reins of the government to traitors (a term the Uddhav group uses to describe Shinde and rebel MLAs), who have been looting the state for the past couple of years. We (Uddhav faction) have had maximum conflicts with the BJP," Raut further said, underlining the impossibility of a rapprochement.
"We will not assist the BJP, which seeks to undermine the Constitution and insult the pride of Maharashtra," Raut asserted.
Notably, Raut had on Friday expressed disappointment over the delay in the seat-sharing talks among MVA partners and claimed that Maharashtra Congress leaders were “incapable of making decisions”.
Talking to reporters, Raut said last week that MVA partners had reached a consensus on 200 of the 288 assembly seats.
“The pending decision should be expedited. Very little time is left. Maharashtra Congress leaders are not capable of making decisions. They have to send the list to Delhi frequently and then discussions happen. The decision will have to be taken at the earliest,” Raut said.
The MVA put up a strong performance in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, winning 30 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra. Assembly polls in the state will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23. The term of the current Maharashtra Assembly ends on November 26.
(With PTI Inputs)
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