Winnability to be key criteria for seat-sharing among MVA allies: Chavan

Senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan on Friday said winnability would be a key factor in thrashing out a seat-sharing arrangement between the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies in Maharashtra for the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Chavan said the Congress is a national outfit and will take a decision on the number of Lok Sabha seats it wants to contest in the state based on feedback from party workers. Addressing a press conference at Tilak Bhavan, the state Congress headquarters, he said seat-sharing talks between MVA allies Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena (UBT) will be held in a positive atmosphere. 'We want to ensure that seat-sharing talks take place as per the prevailing political situation and in a positive atmosphere,' said the former chief minister. A two-day meeting of the state Congress to take stock of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies, the second highest in the country after Uttar Pradesh, began in Mumbai on Friday, and Chavan said the party will review its position in these seats. 'We will review the party position in all the 48 Lok Sabha seats, speak to leaders in Assembly segments falling under these constituencies and assess our winning possibility,' he said. The Congress had won just one Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra, Chandrapur, in the 2019 polls. That seat has now fallen vacant following the death of sitting MP Suresh aalis Balu Dhanorkar earlier this week. Chavan maintained senior Congress MLAs who have been winning their Assembly seats consistently for three to four terms will be considered for allotting tickets for Lok Sabha polls. He criticised the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state for not holding the long due local body polls.

"The government is not fulfilling its constitutional obligation of holding local body elections,' said the Congress leader, who was a minister in the previous MVA administration. Replying to questions, Chavan said bypolls to Chandrapur and Pune Lok Sabha seats, which have fallen vacant due to the death of sitting MPs, are unlikely to take place (apparently because less than one year is left for fresh parliamentary polls). He said 24 Lok Sabha constituencies will be discussed on the first day of the party meeting. Leaders from Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Thane, Palghar (all Konkan), Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Raver, Ahmednagar, Shirdi, Nashik, Dindori (all North Maharashtra), Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Yavatmal, Washim, Gadchiroli, Chimur, Chandrapur, Bhandara-Gondia, Wardha, Nagpur, Ramtek (all Vidarbha) and Latur (Marathwada) are attending the meeting.

Assembly polls in Maharashtra are due in the second half of 2024.