At Uddhav Thackeray-Congress Meet, Discussion On Seat Sharing, Candidates

The strategy session between the Congress and ally Uddhav Thackeray threw up a rough roadmap for the coming assembly election in Maharashtra, which the state's Opposition alliance is hoping to win. Sources said the issue of seat-sharing, which often turns contentious, was also discussed, even though it will be finalised at a later meeting in Mumbai.

Sources said that the parties are focussing on winnability as a key factor when it comes to choosing candidates. The leaders also decided to intercede and resolve seat sharing issues if they cannot be resolved at the local or the state level.

Mr Thackeray, sources said, has asked that the INDIA bloc remain united and take on the ruling alliance of the BJP and the Shiv Sena of Eknath Shinde.

The Sena UBT chief was accompanied by his son Aaditya Thackeray for the meeting with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi. His party MP Sanjay Raut and Congress MP KC Venugopal were also present at the meeting.

The meeting was preceded by a half-hour meet between Mr Thackeray and Sharad Pawar -- the third ally of the Maha Vikas Aghadi or MVA.

The MVA had gone through massive turmoil over the last two years, with the Shiv Sena and Mr Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party splitting.

The rebels had joined hands with the BJP to form the next government in the state. But in the Lok Sabha election, the voters made clear whom they backed -- and it was not the ruling alliance.

In the 2019 general election, the BJP -- allied with the undivided Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray -- won 23 of 25 Lok Sabha seats it contested in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena contested the other 23 and won 18.

This time, the BJP won just nine seats. Its allies -- the splinter units of the Sena led by Eknath Shinde and NCP led by Ajit Pawar -- won eight of the 19 seats they contested.

The Shiv Sena UBT got nine seats while the Nationalist Congress Party  Sharadchandra Pawar won eight seats. The Congress won 13.

Buoyed by the results, the MVA is hoping to do even better in the state election. Mr Thackeray, the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, dropped a hint about the alliance candidate for the top post. "If my colleagues (in MVA) feel that I have done excellent work, then ask them whether they want me as the chief minister. People will decide," he told reporters ahead of the meeting with the Congress leadership.

Mr Thackeray also met Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien, AAP leader Sanjay Singh and Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha member Aditya Yadav among others. He is expected to meet another group of leaders tomorrow. Jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal is also on his list, sources said.