Maharashtra Elections 2024: Why consensus eludes MVA despite announcing seat-sharing deal

The MVA announced an initial seat-sharing agreement for the Maharashtra elections on Wednesday. (File Photo: PTI)

On the face of it, the announcement of the seat-sharing by the Maha Vikas Aghadi that will see the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP(SP) contest from 85 seats each, puts the lid on all rumours of discord within the alliance. However, getting all constituents on the same page ahead of the announcement was no mean task, and is not going to be easy going forward either.

The ‘85-each’ formula announced Wednesday evening signalled a huge climbdown by the Congress which is learnt to have demanded 105-110 seats in the 288-member Assembly. The Shiv Sena (UBT) had demanded 95-100 while the NCP(SP) wanted 80-88 seats for itself.

The Congress, which had regained an upper hand following its better-than-expected performance in the Lok Sabha polls, lost its big brother status within the alliance in Maharashtra despite winning the maximum number of seats in the general elections earlier this year.

Talks between the alliance partners had hit a roadblock after the Congress and Sena locked horns over the number of seats each party wanted to contest. While the Shiv Sena had made it clear that it would not settle for anything less than 100 seats, the Congress denied to accept the demand and instead pushed ahead with seeking 100-115 seats for itself.

While both Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) appear to have been left short-changed, the NCP seems to have been the bigger benefactor of the continuing stalemate.

While seat-sharing has already been announced for 255 seats, and around 10 set aside for smaller parties, at least 23 seats still remain up for grabs. This factor is likely to put the Congress and the Sena back on a warpath as both sides battle it out for a larger share of the pie.

It is here that the hurriedly stitched consensus within the MVA faces its biggest challenge. With the NDA having already stolen the march by announcing candidates for 182 of the 288 Assembly seats, the MVA may have saved face by announcing its seat-sharing, the real challenge for the alliance may only have begun now.

“No consensus has yet been reached. The issue of Vidarbha is still to be sorted out. In addition, Mumbai seats are being renegotiated. No matter has been resolved, irrespective of what people are saying in public,” The Indian Express quoted a senior Congress leader as saying. The leader also admitted that the Shiv Sena (UBT) was “creating issues” during negotiations.

Another Congress leader insists that regardless of the announcement of the seat-sharing, there was no consensus among them on seat-sharing and that the party would not agree to contest less than 105 seats.

It had taken an intervention by senior NCP leader Sharad Pawar to bring the Shiv Sena(UBT) and the Congress back on the seat-sharing arrangement. With the Shiv Sena having indicated earlier that it would not hesitate to walk out of the alliance if its demands were not met, a fresh push by the Congress for a greater share of seats could leave the alliance on sticky wicket in a crucial fight.