The rift within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) continues over the issue of the Chief Minister post ahead of the Maharashtra state assembly elections.
Alliance partners Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) have expressed reluctance to declare a candidate for the Chief Minister role prior to the elections, stating that winning the most seats is the key factor in deciding the top position.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT) insists that a candidate for Chief Minister should be declared early, and that person should be both acceptable to all alliance members and capable of leading a coalition government.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut noted that MVA leaders have been holding a series of meetings regarding seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming state elections.
He added that the contentious issues regarding certain seats would likely be resolved by the first or second week of October. Raut emphasised that within the MVA, there is no formal rule that the party with the highest number of seats automatically secures the Chief Ministerial post.
“We are in the coalition era, so the person who wants to be Chief Minister must be acceptable to all and sufficiently experienced to run a three-party alliance government,” Raut said.
He also pointed out that during the Lok Sabha elections, the alliance did not follow any specific formula but still managed to win more seats (31) than the NDA, which secured only 17 seats in Maharashtra.
“Our only condition is that the Chief Ministerial candidate should be declared early. We are fine with a name from either Congress or NCP (SP) as well, but it should be acceptable to all,” Raut stated.
In terms of seat-sharing, Raut explained that winnability is the primary criterion for allocating seats.
“After four rounds of meetings, it has become clear that several issues are quite complex. However, we are confident that they can be resolved amicably. We have decided to contest the elections together as the MVA, despite some ongoing issues. Tough decisions, such as swapping seats, will need to be made. Our main goal is to remove this unconstitutional and illegal Mahayuti government and return to power. We are prepared to make some small sacrifices. We have already agreed on 200 out of the 288 state assembly seats where no major issues remain, and that is a significant achievement,” Raut said.
He further added that once the seat-sharing arrangements are finalised, the alliance will then focus on preparing its election manifesto and campaign strategy.