AICC Meetings Canceled Amid Seat-Sharing Disagreements Among MVA Partners
Mumbai, 21st October 2024: Key meetings of the AICC’s central election and screening committees planned for Sunday were unexpectedly cancelled due to disagreements over the seat-sharing arrangement among the MVA partners. These committees are expected to reconvene in the coming days.
A Congress official stated that the party is prepared for any outcomes if a consensus on seat-sharing is not reached. Similarly, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut remarked that anything is possible in the realm of politics.
Discussions on seat sharing resumed late Saturday after AICC’s Maharashtra in-charge, Ramesh Chennithala, met with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar to alleviate tensions. Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray and MLC Anil Parab also had a discussion with Pawar. While Sena (UBT) officials claimed this meeting was aimed at reviewing the MVA manifesto, political analysts noted that the seat-sharing disagreements, particularly between Sena (UBT) and Congress, remain unresolved. On Sunday, Uddhav convened a meeting of party officials at Matoshree, the Thackeray family residence, but no candidate list was announced by any MVA party.
In the absence of a resolution during Sunday’s committee meetings, the AICC tasked former minister and CWC member Naseem Khan to engage with Pawar to address the conflict. “I had a brief discussion with Sharad Pawar regarding the contested seats. As he is a key figure in the MVA, he spoke with both Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut. I am confident that after Pawar’s intervention, the issue will be resolved soon,” Khan stated.
Recently, Congress reviewed all assembly constituencies and identified 288 potential candidates. The MVA constituents have convened seven times recently, attended by MPCC president Nana Patole, Raut, and NCP (SP)’s Jayant Patil. However, consensus was lacking due to what Congress officials described as “unrealistic demands” from Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP).
“A lot of their demands are unrealistic. They have requested seats in areas where their influence is nearly nonexistent,” a Congress functionary remarked.
