11 April,2024 10:31 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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Ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2024, Congress on Wednesday announced the candidatures of Shobha Bachchav from Dhule Lok Sabha seat in north Maharashtra and Kalyan Kale from Jalna in the central Marathwada region of the state.
The party has, thus, so far announced candidates for 15 out of 17 Lok Sabha constituencies it would be contesting in the state as part of the seat-sharing arrangement with its allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
Bachchav is a former state minister, while Kale too a senior leader of the state Congress unit.
The party is yet to announce candidates for the two seats in Mumbai that have been allocated to it.
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The opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra on Tuesday announced its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024 with the Shiv Sena (UBT) securing a substantial portion with 21 seats, while the Congress will contest 17 seats, and the NCP (SP) 10 seats.
The finalised agreement concludes weeks of negotiations, with all parties gearing up for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 in Maharashtra scheduled in five phases from April 19 to May 20.
The agreement was achieved after the Congress relinquished its claims on the contentious Sangli and Bhiwandi seats, now designated for the Sena (UBT) and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), respectively.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole clarified that the party had not capitulated to its allies but strategically taken "a step back", emphasising that negotiations could not be prolonged indefinitely.
His statement comes in the backdrop of reports of some discontent within the state unit of Congress regarding the allocation of seats like Sangli and Bhiwandi and also the ceding of four out of six seats in Mumbai to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena.
"We took a step back, we did not surrender," Patole affirmed to reporters while explaining that the final decision was reached after consultations with the party's central leadership.
Congress leaders tried their best to secure seats where the party had good prospects of winning, but there were limitations on stretching negotiations in view of the ongoing election process, he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
