Shruti Suman
Congress leaders are set to meet with their allies from Maharashtra today as negotiations for seat-sharing continue within the Opposition alliance to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections against the BJP. The meeting follows the announcement by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s party that they intend to contest 23 seats in Maharashtra. Although no longer the “original” Shiv Sena, his party remains a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), along with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar and the Congress.
Last July, the Congress, along with regional parties such as AAP, Trinamool, and DMK, formed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to present a united front in the elections. However, challenges persist in finalizing seat allocations as they navigate shared electoral spaces.
Uddhav Thackeray’s party faced a setback when Chief Minister Eknath Shinde received the party’s name and symbol. Despite this, the party remains influential in Maharashtra. A recent statement by Sanjay Raut, Thackeray’s close aide, claiming their intention to contest 23 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra had sparked controversy. Thackeray later reassured that his party would not take any actions harmful to the alliance.
In another development, Congress and AAP, amidst passive-aggressive exchanges, met to discuss seat-sharing possibilities in Punjab, Delhi, and other states. Although no conclusive announcement was made, both parties decided to reconvene to finalize their arrangement. Congress representatives Mukul Wasnik and Ashok Gehlot, along with AAP’s Sandeep Pathak and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, participated in the meeting. Wasnik stated that a final discussion on seat-sharing would occur in a few days, affirming the intent for both parties to contest the elections together.
However, the Congress units in Delhi and Punjab oppose a collaboration with AAP, which currently holds power in both states. A similar challenge exists in Bengal, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee insists that her party will contest the polls independently, despite the Trinamool’s membership in the INDIA alliance.
Efforts are underway within the INDIA alliance to resolve differences among its member parties, with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reaching out to his Tamil Nadu counterpart to address controversies stemming from remarks on Hindi being the national language during the last INDIA meeting. Kumar’s refusal of a translation request had sparked a debate on language issues.
