 "Maharashtra polls: Mahayuti v MVA alliances' seat-sharing deal decoded")
The nomination deadline for the Maharashtra Assembly Elections ended on Tuesday, bringing clarity to the seat-sharing strategies of the two major alliances—ruling ‘Mahayuti’ and Opposition ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ (MVA).
The Mahayuti alliance consists of three key parties: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In contrast, the Opposition MVA alliance comprises the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
For context, Shinde rebelled against the Thackeray-led MVA government in 2022, causing a split in the Shiv Sena. A similar split occurred in July 2023 when Ajit Pawar broke away from the NCP, led by his uncle and party founder, Sharad Pawar.
For the November 20 elections, the BJP has fielded 148 candidates, while the Congress has fielded 103. Earlier, the MVA announced that all three parties had agreed on 85 seats each, with the remaining constituencies to be allocated after discussions with smaller allies.
Seat-sharing in the Mahayuti alliance
The BJP secured the largest portion of seats among its allies, contesting in 148 constituencies. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is fielding candidates in 80 seats, while Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s NCP has nominated candidates for 53 seats.
This brings their total tally to 281 seats. Smaller allies will contest five of the remaining seven seats, while no decision has been made on the last two.
Seat-sharing in the Maha Vikas Aghadi
In the MVA, the Congress emerged as the party with the most seats (103). Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest 89 seats, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) will field candidates in 87 seats. Six seats were allocated to other MVA allies, while clarity on three assembly segments remains pending.
A total of 7,995 candidates have filed 10,905 nominations for the upcoming polls, with results expected on November 23. Key high-stakes constituencies include Worli, Mahim, Kopri-Panchpakhadi, and Yeola, among others.