The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will fight elections together, and seat allocations will be finalised in a couple of days, Congress party in-charge for the Maharashtra Assembly election Ramesh Chennithala said on Saturday (October 19, 2024) in Mumbai. The statement comes a day after seat allocation talks reached a stalemate between Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray or UBT) chief and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole.
“There are no differences between us. We will fight the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) together, unseat this corrupt government, and form our government. We will solve all the issues today and finalise the seat allocation in one or two days. Discussions in alliances are common and are important. There is no delay in seat sharing talks,” Mr. Chennithala said before a meeting between the MVA’s allies.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Chennithala met Mr. Thackeray at his residence ‘Matoshree’ to enquire after his health. “Uddhav Thackeray is healthy and so is the MVA. We will fight the elections together,” he told media persons after the meeting. When asked about the chief ministerial face of the alliance, Mr. Chennithala said “the MVA is our face”, and the chief ministership would be decided after the election. Mr. Chennithala thereafter visited Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP) chief Sharad Pawar for discussions.
Mr. Chennithala’s visit assumes significance as Mr. Thackeray has refused to hold seat allocation talks with Mr. Patole, and Congress State chiefsident Nana Patole and Shiv Sena-UBT leader Sanjay Raut had expressed disappointment over the talks held.
Speaking to the press on Saturday before Mr. Chennithala’s visit, Mr. Raut said that the Shiv Sena is a State party and State parties need to be given their due importance. He also said that seat sharing discussions between NCP-SP and the Shiv Sena-UBT had been resolved.
The meeting of the senior observers appointed by the Congress party for the Assembly election was held at Tilak Bhavan. Along with Mr. Chennithala, former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan, among other party office-bearers, attended the meeting.
All 288 Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra go to the polls in a single phase on November 20. This the first Assembly election with factions of major regional parties fighting against each other in opposing alliances.
Published - October 19, 2024 07:35 pm IST
