MUMBAI: The 2024 Lok Sabha and state assembly seat sharing among the alliance partners of Maha Vikas Aghadi has turned into a bone of contention, with each party demanding more seats.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar was on Solapur district tour where he demanded the Solapur seat. Earlier, NCP workers from Solapur said that NCP has more strength than the Congress in Solapur seat. The demand was even supported by NCP MLA Rohit Pawar. But Congress refused to concede the seat saying Solapur is their traditional seat.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said Congress is the national party and it has a solid base in Maharashtra, therefore it will contest as many seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“There are no differences with Maha Vikas Aghadi. Whatever issues in our alliance will be sorted out. We are united against the BJP and confident of defeating them,” Patole said.
NCP leader on the condition of anonymity said that, at present, NCP is the strongest party in MVA in terms of elected Lok Sabha MPs and MLAs.
“Congress has only one Lok Sabha MP and 44 MLAs, Shiv Sena (UBT) has only five Lok Sabha MPs and 16 MLAs and NCP has five Lok Sabha MPs and the highest number of 56 MLAs. So, our political and electoral strength is more, both alliance partners should understand and demand the seats in elections accordingly. The alliance partners should be realistic during the seat sharing, otherwise, things may go different ways. We want to avoid it, therefore, asking both the alliance partners to have seat-sharing early,” the senior NCP leader added.
NCP is upset with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut for his edit commenting that Sharad Pawar failed to find a successor to his party and hence was forced to rescind his resignation.
Raut also said that some sections of the NCP were ready with their travel bags to join the BJP. Reacting to it, NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal said that Sanjay Raut, rather than writing on NCP leaders, should focus on his own party.
“If Raut had focused his party and their leaders' travel bags, Uddhav Thackeray would not have lost his government and there would not be a split in their party as well. So, Sanjay Raut should not comment on our party’s internal matters if he really wants MVA to survive and thrive,” Bhujbal added.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar also said that he does not give importance to the writing of Shiv Sena's mouthpiece Saamana.