Maharashtra assembly polls: Opposition MVA, ruling Mahayuti alliance reach seat-sharing agreements

Ahead of assembly elections in India’s Maharashtra state, the opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), has reportedly finalised a seat-sharing agreement. According to reports, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest 90-95 seats out of 288. Congress party has got the biggest piece of the cake with 103-108 seats whereas Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) will contest on around 80-85 seats.

Smaller allies like Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are expected to get 3-6 seats. Upon finalising the seat-sharing agreement, the alliance is expected to release its first list of candidates on Tuesday night (Oct 22).

In Mumbai, which sends 36 lawmakers to the state assembly, Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest 18 seats alone. On the other hand, Congress will fight for 14 seats and NCP (SP) for 2 seats.

The ruling Mahayuti alliance has also reached a seat-sharing agreement in Maharashtra, as per media reports.

The three allies—Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)—reached a deal Tuesday, with the BJP likely to get 152-155 seats. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will get 78-80 seats, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP will get 52-54 seats, according to media reports.

Union Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting earlier in the day in his residence in New Delhi. This comes after the BJP released its first list of 99 candidates on October 20.

Elections will be held in Maharashtra on November 20 in a single phase, with the BJP hoping to repeat its stellar performance in the Haryana assembly polls.

BJP hopes to capitalise upon CM Eknath Shinde’s popularity and plans to project him as the face of the Mahayuti alliance.

The counting of the votes will be held on November 23.

(With inputs from agencies)