Maharashtra: MVA announces seat distribution for Lok Sabha elections
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Tuesday unveiled its seat-sharing agreement for the Lok Sabha elections. Following extensive discussions, leaders of the three constituent parties—Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)'s Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Uddhav Thackeray, and the Congress's Nana Patole—jointly announced the alliance details. According to this, the Shiv Sena will contest 21 seats, the Congress will run for 17 seats, and the NCP for 10 seats.
Why does this story matter?
The MVA's seat-sharing agreement follows the withdrawal of Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi—known for its significant Dalit community support—from negotiations. There was hope of reconciliation until last week. Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan even expressed readiness to withdraw his party's candidate for the Akola seat in favor of a deal. Akola, one of the seats offered to the VBA by the MVA, was intended for Ambedkar's candidacy. The Bharatiya Janata Party's Sanjay Dhotre has held the seat since 2004.
MVA leaders comment on seat-sharing agreement amidst tensions
The finalization of the seat-sharing agreement comes amidst rising internal tensions within the MVA. Thackeray, leader of Shiv Sena, commented on this arrangement saying, "Everyone wants to compete for seats. There's nothing wrong with that. The focus should be on winning." As part of this pact, the Shiv Sena has retained the disputed Sangli seat while the Congress has secured Bhiwandi and Mumbai North, a seat traditionally held by the Sena.
MVA and Mahayuti struggle to finalize candidates
Despite the progress in seat distribution, both MVA and the incumbent Mahayuti are still struggling to finalize their candidates in approximately 13 Lok Sabha constituencies. These constituencies represent about a quarter of Maharashtra's seats, including Satara, Nashik, Aurangabad, Palghar, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Mumbai South, Mumbai North West, and Mumbai North Central. The selection process has been complicated by disagreements between local leaders and party workers over seat distribution between Shiv Sena and BJP.
2019 seat tally
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP, which was then in alliance with the undivided Shiv Sena, contested 25 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. It won 23 of them. Thackeray's Shiv Sena, on the other hand, won 18 of the 23 seats it contested. Meanwhile, the undivided NCP won four, while the Congress and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won a seat each. An independent candidate also won one seat.
