MVA allies to hold seat-sharing talks from Sept 18 to 20: Raut

Mumbai, Sep 17 (PTI) The three Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies will hold seat-sharing talks from September 18 to 20 for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters here, he said deliberations will be held on the seats to be contested, and the formula once decided during this meeting will be final.

Assembly polls are likely to be held in the second week of November.

While the opposition MVA comprises Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and Congress, the ruling Mahayuti has Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP as its constituents.

“Talks on seat-sharing among MVA partners will be held from September 18 to 20. The meeting will be held for three consecutive days. The formula of which party will contest which seats will be decided and it will be final,” Raut said.

He stressed that winnability will be the criterion for deciding the seats.

When asked that Congress and NCP (SP) clinched a higher strike rate than Shiv Sena (UBT) in this year’s Lok Sabha elections, Raut said his party’s votes were transferred to these two parties in a big way.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) ceded Kolhapur, Amravati and Ramtek, the seats it traditionally contested, to Congress, he said.

Had these seats been with Shiv Sena (UBT), it would have won them for sure, Raut added.

The party workers of Shiv Sena (UBT) also toiled for the NCP (SP), including for the seat of Baramati, he said.

“We also have to accept that the Congress-NCP votes,” Raut added.