Cong, NCP find difficulty in reaching consensus on 8 LS seats

The Congress and the NCP are finding it difficult to have an understanding on contesting eight out of 48 Lok Sabha constituencies of Maharashtra, even after reaching a consensus on distribution of other seats among the two parties and their other allies, according to sources.

Leaders of the Congress and the NCP met here Friday to iron out differences on 8 constituencies but put off the matter till after Diwali on November 7.

The two parties said a few days back that they had reached consensus on 40 seats at stake in next year's polls.

The eight Lok Sabha seats, over which the differences persist, are Pune, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Jalna, Raver, Jalgaon, Yavatmal and Shirdi.

According to a source, the NCP wants to contest from the Pune seat, with demands in the party that its chief Sharad Pawar should enter the fray from there.

But, traditionally, the Congress has been contesting the Pune seat. Last time, the BJP had won the seat.

Pawar, the former union minister and Maharashtra Chief Minister, had declared in 2014 that he would not contest Lok Sabha polls again and reiterated it last month.

The 78-year-old NCP chief, who has represented Baramati and Madha constituencies in the past, is at present a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Asked about the possibility of Pawar contesting from Pune, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik ruled it out.

"No, nothing like that. Such a possibility was denied in the past too," he said.

Malik said the workers had demanded that Pawar contest the Lok polls again but he had refused.

"The two parties want to swap some seats. The Congress has been contesting from Shirdi, while NCP has traditionally been contesting from Ahmednagar. This time, the Congress is demanding Ahmednagar," a source in the Congress told PTI.

The NCP contested Raver constituency last time but now, the Congress wants to field candidate from there, the source added.

Another source said senior Congress leaders would meet the party's ticket aspirants and workers, particularly from the eight seats concerned, for three days beginning November 15 to know their view point and gauge ground realities.

After that, the Congress and NCP leaders may meet once again on November 18 and November 19.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the NCP had won four seats while the Congress could manage to win only two.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil said he was confident that differences would be sorted out soon and the two parties would take decision unanimously.

He said the two parties would discuss the seat-sharing issues again later this month.

"Leaders of the Congress and NCP may meet again for one more time. There are not too many differences between the parties. If the differences persist we will meet again and present the situation before the central leadership," he added.

Meanwhile, the Haatkanangale constituency is likely to go to Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana led by Raju Shetti, according to the understanding in the opposition camp.

The source added that the Akola constituency too may go to the Prakash Ambedkar-led Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) if it joins the alliance.

The BBM has already announced its decision to join hands with the Asaduddin Owaisi-headed AIMIM, but efforts were still on to bring the Ambedkar-led party into the alliance led by Congress and NCP.