MVA seat-sharing: Cong's Chennithala meets Uddhav, Pawar to end stalemate

A day after tensions between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress over seat-sharing for the Maharashtra assembly polls surfaced, Congress's state in-charge Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday met former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Leaders of the three Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) parties involved in the ongoing seat-sharing talks also met in the evening in a bid to break the impasse as the state is set to go to polls on November 20. While Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) are yet to declare their seat-sharing arrangement, their INDIA bloc ally and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav has declared candidates for five of the 12 seats he is demanding. In a message to Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the current national politics is driven by regional parties and they must get their space.

The filing of nominations will begin from Sunday, but both the ruling Mahayuti coalition and Opposition MVA alliance are yet to finalise the seat distribution. Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday had cautioned that the haggling among the allies must not reach the breaking point. State Congress chief Nana Patole had said there was a stalemate over 25 to 30 seats. On Saturday, Chennithala met Thackeray at the latter's residence 'Matoshree', stating that he wanted to inquire about Thackeray's health.

The Opposition alliance's seat-sharing talks will conclude in "one or two days", he said after meeting the allies and state Congress leaders.

There were no differences between state Congress chief Patole and Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, Chennithala said, adding, "leaders of all three alliance parties are discussing the seat adjustments together. The health of Uddhav Thackeray and the MVA is excellent." Thackeray was, notably, hospitalised recently for a detailed check-up. Chennithala also met Sharad Pawar and state Congress leaders separately. In an apparent swipe at Congress, Sanjay Raut said the seat-sharing talks between his party and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) have concluded as these two parties are driven by the "desire and mindset" to resolve the issues, and their "high command" is in Mumbai.

The national politics is being driven by regional parties and his party's stand is these parties must get space in their respective states, the Sena (UBT) MP added. Raut also informed that SP president Akhilesh Yadav spoke to Thackeray and the talks between the two leaders were good. Addressing a rally in Dhule in north Maharashtra, Yadav said his party has sought 12 seats as part of the MVA alliance. The SP also declared Irshad Jahagirdar as its candidate from Dhule city, making him the party's fifth declared candidate.

Talking to PTI, SP leader Abu Azmi said they were seeking the seats where the Akhilesh Yadav-led party was strong.

Taking a jibe at the tensions within the MVA over seat-sharing, BJP Mumbai president Ashish Shelar said the police commissioner would have to come up with rules such as weapons of self-defence be kept outside the room before an MVA meeting takes place.