MVA pact: Congress 105, UBT Sena 95, Sharad's NCP 84

MUMBAI: After weeklong parleys marked by a series of confrontations between Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and MPCC president Nana Patole, Maha Vikas Aghadi on Tuesday evening reached a consensus on seat-sharing for the assembly elections. If a senior Congress politician is to be believed, Congress will contest 105 seats, UBT Shiv Sena 95 and Sharad Pawar-led NC, while a few seats will be given to Samajwadi Party and PWP. Maharashtra assembly has a total of 288 seats. The Mahayuti formula is also in the final stages, with BJP likely to contest between 150 and 155 seats, CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena 78-80 and Ajit Pawar-led NCP 52-54 seats.

The dispute in the MVA over seat allocation was finally resolved following the intervention of the soft-spoken Congress legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat, who was deployed by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to handle matters.

The senior Congress functionary said that in Mumbai, it is expected that the UBT Sena will contest 18 seats, Congress 14 and NCP (SP) 2. The row over three seats in Mumbai - Versova, Bandra East and Byculla - is yet to be resolved as both UBT Sena and Congress have staked claim. "We will resolve the dispute either tonight or on Wednesday, the UBT Shiv Sena or Congress will have to sacrifice, only then will the dispute be resolved," Congress neta said late Tuesday evening.

After its success in the Lok Sabha elections, where MVA won 31 seats, at least 25 meetings were held to discuss the seat-sharing formula for the assembly elections. While a consensus was reached on nearly 240 seats, there has been no end to the row over 12 seats in the Vidarbha region, where both Congress and UBT Sena have staked claim, and the three seats in the city.

At several meetings, sources said, tempers ran so high that at one stage, MPCC president Nana Patole and Sanjay Raut had a sharp exchange of words, and it was also felt at that point that it might be better if all the constituents fought the elections separately and joined hands after the elections. The dispute then reached the AICC, where Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge pacified the warring factions and deputed Thorat to resolve the matter.