The Congress has turned down the demand of its ally Shiv Sena (UBT) for 23 seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The development occurred following a meeting of leaders to discuss seat sharing for the Lok Sabha elections among the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi partners, the Congress, the NCP, and the Shiv Sena (UBT).
Divided into two factions, the Shiv Sena claimed 23 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra, even when most of its members support Eknath Shinde. Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam stated that Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of the Shiv Sena faces a big challenge because it doesn’t have enough candidates after the
split in party.
Following splits in the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, Congress representatives at the meeting said that the grand old party is the only one with a stable vote share in the state.
Former Chief Minister and senior Maharashtra Congress leader Ashok Chavan said, “While every party desires a larger share of seats, the demand for 23 seats by the Shiv Sena was excessive given the current circumstances.”
Sanjay Nirupam said, “Shiv Sena may demand 23 seats, but what will they do with them? Shiv Sena’s leaders have left, causing a crisis. Lack of candidates is a problem for Shiv Sena.”
Regarding the number of seats the Congress and NCP would fight for, Raut remained silent.
In 2019, Shiv Sena was a part of BJP-led NDA alliance. The Congress, NCP and the faction led by Uddhav Thackeray’s is part of MVA.
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