The Opposition INDIA bloc's seat-sharing deal in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections has been finalised, under which former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) faction will fight 21 seats. Under the deal, which came after weeks of negotiations, Congress will contest 17 seats, while the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party will battle it out in 10.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has retained the contentious seat of Sangli, while Bhiwandi has been taken by Congress.
In return, Congress got the Mumbai North seat, which is traditionally retained by the Shiv Sena.
The seat sharing agreement was announced jointly by Uddhav Thackeray, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and president of Congress's unit in Maharashtra Nana Patole at a press conference in Mumbai.
On the seat-sharing deal, Uddhav Thackeray said, "Everybody wishes to fight for seats. There is nothing wrong with it. Winning should be given priority."
In a social media post, the Shiv Sena (UBT) said the seat-sharing agreement came on the "auspicious day" of Gudi Padwa, also known as the Marathi New Year.
"We have pledged to fight for the protection of the Constitution, and we intend to fight unitedly against the dictatorship in the future," it said.
The Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra will take place in five phases on April 19, 26, and May 7, 13 and 20. There are 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
The Opposition seat-sharing agreement came after there was growing friction within the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra as the parties failed to reach an agreement on a few key seats.
The friction further deepened after Congress leader and former Maharashtra Minister Naseem Khan said last month that the party wanted a "friendly fight" in six Lok Sabha seats, adding that the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s move to declare candidates for 17 seats before the finalisation of the seat-sharing deal "angered" Congress workers.
To this, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said that "friendly fights" would only help the BJP in the crucial national polls.
Naseem Khan's remark came after the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s announcement of its first list of candidates, including in three key seats that were still under discussion.
