Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Which is the winning hand?

Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders during the press conference in Mumbai. File pic

In the run-up to the Assembly polls in October this year, the Congress high command will seek Maharashtra leaders' feedback on Friday. The meeting is crucial in view of the MVA partners', especially the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s, demand for the highest share of 288 seats. The meeting at Garware Club will be attended by the party's National General Secretary (Organisation), K C Venugopal, and state In-charge General Secretary, Ramesh Chennithala.

After meeting with senior leaders, the duo will proceed to the state Congress headquarters, Tilak Bhavan, to meet with MPs, legislators, state and district Congress members, Mumbai Congress leaders, and office-bearers of frontal organisations. Other senior leaders will also be present.

MVA leaders at a press conference. File pic/ Sayyed Sameer Abedi

"An analysis of the recently concluded Lok Sabha election results will be conducted, and preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections will be reviewed.

Additionally, a review of voter list revisions and organisational matters will be conducted, and strategies will be decided. KC Venugopal and Chennithala will provide guidance at the joint meeting," said State Vice-President (Organisation and Administration), Nana Gawande.

High stakes

The MVA's strong performance in the Lok Sabha remains foundational to the bloc's preparedness for unseating the Mahayuti (NDA), but the degree of respective success is turning out to be a concern, because, the Congress, having won the highest number of MPs, is itself a strong contender for proportionate share to contest the Assembly elections. Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) too are unwilling to dilute their claims for the higher number of seats. Sharad Pawar's party had said that it had settled for less in the Lok Sabha because it wanted more Assembly seats. Pawar's LS strike rate (8 out of 10) was the highest among parties across the rival alliances. So, before their pre-poll pact reaches finality, the partners have a lot to iron out if they were to make MVA a formidable combination.

SourceSpeak

A source in the Sena (UBT) said on Thursday that the party will start negotiations with a baseline of 125 seats, including 25 out of 36 in Mumbai. Congress, the 14-MP party, doesn't want to scale down (more than 100) because it has won the maximum MP seats and was liberal in giving away its share to the partners in the general election. The state leadership doesn't want the high command to be liberal again and hand over advantage to the partners. "We will share our concerns about seat-sharing with the top leadership," said a senior Congress leader on the eve of the meeting.

Meanwhile, Congress insiders said the state unit had completed a survey of 288 Assembly seats, and it will raise demand accordingly when the troika negotiates. As of now, the three partners are busy posturing to gain as much in seat-sharing. The Congress leadership in New Delhi will take a final call whenever there is a dispute. Both Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar enjoy hotline connection with the Congress high command and there have been instances that the state Congress leadership was sidelined in talks, said a senior Congress leader.

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No. of seats Congress won in 2019