Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Monday said Maha Vikas Aghadi has reached consensus on 210 of Maharashtra’s 288 seats, while state Congress leader Nana Patole said discussions have been completed on 96 party seats.
However, both sides are united in their claim that the Bharatiya Janata Party is spreading wrong information in the run-up to the elections, which will be held in a single phase on November 20. The result will be declared on November 23.
Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress are constituencies of Maha Vikas Aghadi along with Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP).
The aim is to ensure the defeat of the forces that looted Maharashtra, Raut said in a swipe at the ruling alliance comprising Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
“We have reached a consensus on 210 seats. It is a significant achievement. We aim to contest the polls as a united force, and we will defeat the looting force of Maharashtra,” said Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP and chief strategist for the Shiv Sena (UBT).
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Patole confirmed that there was no dispute in the MVA, adding that discussions on seat-sharing had taken place and would be concluded soon.
“Now, the discussion on 96 seats for Congress is over. Tomorrow, further discussion will be held with Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray. After this discussion, we will try to announce the list of candidates tomorrow itself,” he said.
Patole and other Congress state leaders are in Delhi to finalize seats and candidates for the assembly polls.
Raut’s comments came amid news channel reports that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party may break away from the MVA and contest all 288 seats on its own.
The past few days have seen busy parleys between the three main opposition parties to finalize the seat-sharing deal, with speculation doing rounds that the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) are not on the same page.
Raut’s statement also comes amid speculation that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is in talks with him, signaling the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the BJP, who were allies for decades before going their separate ways in 2019, are back together.
The two parties broke the alliance after the 2019 assembly elections. At the time, the inseparable Shiv Sena accused the BJP of breaking its promise to share the chief minister’s post. The BJP has consistently rejected the agreement.
Asked about the phone conversation, Raut said, “BJP is giving fake news. We know who is doing it. The party is afraid of losing the assembly polls and spreading wrong information. Raut said BJP is planning a split in Shiv Sena (in June 2022), destroy the MVA Thackeray government and also assured the name and symbol of the party to the rebel faction led by Eknath Shinde.
“The worst thing BJP has done is to give government to traitors (a term used by Uddhav’s group to describe Shinde and rebel MLAs), who have looted the country in the last few years. We (Uddhav’s faction) have maximum conflict with BJP,” he said. Raut, insisting that rapprochement is impossible.
Raut insisted the misinformation had nothing to do with the seat-sharing discussions at the MVA.
When asked about some Congress leaders leaking information to the media about the Shiv Sena (UBT), Raut said he was “surprised that Congress leaders could make such comments.” “We will not help the BJP, which seeks to destroy the Constitution and insult the pride of Maharashtra,” Raut said.
Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders have occasionally admitted their differences over certain seats, but have remained committed to working together to defeat the BJP.
“There is no truth in the news of Shiv Sena leaving the alliance. BJP is spreading wrong information about the opposition party. BJP will face a huge defeat in the assembly elections. The fear of this defeat has led them to play the game. There is no claim made by the Congress. All efforts our collective focus is on bringing MVA to power in Maharashtra,” said Patole.
Responding to a question, Patole said, “BJP’s love for Hindus is fake. When Narendra Modi came to power, he claimed to be ‘vishwaguru’. However, in these 11 years, farmer suicides have increased, and many of them are Hindus. Patole said that many had died due to unemployment and most of them were Hindus.
“It is no longer a secret that Hindus faced injustice when BJP came to power. BJP’s Hindutva is only for political purposes,” he said.
The current meeting period ends on November 26.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from the feed of syndicated news agency – PTI)
