New Delhi: With Assembly elections in Maharashtra approaching, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Wednesday went into a huddle to chalk out strategy for the upcoming polls likely to be held in October. Buoyed by its stellar performance in the recently-held Lok Sabha polls, the opposition alliance MVA, comprising, Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) – is hopeful of a comeback in the state.
According to sources, a consensus has almost been reached among the three parties on everything from seat sharing to the chief ministerial face. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief is likely to be the Chief Minister candidate of the MVA alliance.
Earlier today, Thackeray dropped hints that he was ready to be projected as the chief ministerial face in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. “I had not dreamt of being a chief minister, nor I wanted to. But I am also not the one who runs away from responsibility. I took up the responsibility and tried to deliver to the best of my abilities,” Thackeray told reports when asked if he will be projected as CM face of MVA.
“If my colleagues feel that I have done excellent work, then ask them whether they want me as chief minister. People will decide,” he said.
MVA holds seat sharing talks for Maharashtra polls
The opposition alliance MVA started the formal talks on seat sharing from today. According to sources, Congress is likely to contest the maximum number of seats followed by Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharad Pawar) faction. The seat sharing arrangement would be in place by early next month.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the opposition MVA won 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, delivering a setback to the BJP-led NDA which was hoping to win 45 seats. The Congress had emerged as the best performer in Maharashtra among the MVA alliance, winning 13 seats out of the 17 it had contested, followed by the Shiv Sena-UBT (9) and NCP-SP (8).
The MVA meeting was held a Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. Thackeray, NCP-SP supremo Sharad Pawar, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal attended the meeting.
In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, the undivided Shiv Sena had won 56 seats, the undivided NCP 54 and the Congress 45 in the last Assembly elections. After the Shiv Sena snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA ahead of 2019 Assembly polls, the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress joined hands to form the MVA government with Thackeray as the chief minister. Half way through the tenure, the Shiv Sena split with Eknath Shinde walking away with majority of the MLAs and aligned with the BJP to form the NDA government. An year later, the NCP saw a similar split and Ajit Pawar also joined the government led by Shinde with Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.