13 September,2014 05:17 AM IST | | Ravikiran Deshmukh
The announcement leaves parties with just over a month to decide on their final election and seat-sharing strategies
Mah-election
The battle lines have been drawn, with the announcement of the schedule for the state assembly elections on Friday. The Congress-NCP alliance, ruling for the past 15 years, seems shaky since BJP's sweeping victory during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. Meanwhile, the BJP and Shiv Sena-led Mahayuti is gearing up to rock the alliance's boat further.
There has been a flurry of activity in political circles since the announcement of the schedule for the state assembly polls. Pic/ PTI
In the midst of these developments, the delayed announcement of the election schedule has sent the parties into a tizzy, as they are left with barely any time to decide on their election strategies. With just 33 days left to finalise the details, neither the Congress-NCP alliance, nor the Mahayuti alliance of six parties have announced their plans for seat-sharing.
A late night meeting between senior leaders of BJP and Shiv Sena went on past midnight at Matoshree, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's home. However, leaders of both parties refused to divulge details of their discussion.
On the other hand, there has been no word on seat-sharing between the Congress and NCP, say leaders of both parties. There is a state of chaos, as Congress is yet to respond to Sharad Pawar-led NCP's demand for 144 seats - half of the total strength of the state assembly.
According to a senior NCP leader, not even a phone call has exchanged between the parties since the official demand was made.
