In a sign of differences between the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena and the Congress just a month before the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the regional party has said it will not hold seat-sharing discussions with state Congress President Nana Patole.
On Thursday, sources in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, comprising the Congress, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), had said that a consensus had been reached on 260 of the state's 288 Assembly constituencies.
Speaking on Friday, however, senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader and MP Sanjay Raut said the allies had agreed on only 200 seats and took a dig at Nana Patole without naming him, saying leaders in the Maharashtra Congress leaders are "not capable of taking decisions".
Mr Raut said he had spoken to Congress general secretaries KC Venugopal and Mukul Wasnik and the party's Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala and would also talk to Rahul Gandhi later in the day.
"The pending decision should be expedited. Very little time is left. Maharashtra Congress leaders are not capable of making decisions. They have to send the list to Delhi frequently and then discussions happen. The decision (on seat-sharing) will have to be taken at the earliest," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Sources told NDTV that the differences between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress arose because the Uddhav Thackeray-led party wanted to contest more seats in the Vidarbha region, which Mr Patole was not willing to concede.
Riding high on its performance in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections, in which it emerged as the single-largest party with 13 of 48 seats, the Congress is hoping to do well in Vidarbha, where it has had a good track record in previous elections as well. The region is also a stronghold of Mr Patole.
Sources said Mr Chennithala will meet Uddhav Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai to sort out the differences between the parties.
While it is unclear what impact the decision of the Shiv Sena (UBT) will have on the Maha Vikas Aghadi, sources said the differences may hurt the coalition in its fight with the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
The opposition alliance was seen to be in the driver's seat after its performance in the Lok Sabha elections, in which it managed to win 30 constituencies in Maharashtra, but the BJP-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction)-NCP (Ajit Pawar) faction coalition has been energised after the Haryana results in which the BJP managed to pull off its best-ever performance despite battling anti-incumbency after two straight terms.
Voting in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase on November 20 and counting will take place on November 23.
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