Maharashtra assembly polls 2024: Sharad Pawar says no need for MVA to declare CM face, gives update on seat-sharing talks

Sharad Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president and Maharashtra politics veteran, on Wednesday said that there is no need for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to declare a chief ministerial face in the upcoming state polls. 

He said that the decision on the Chief Minister can be made after the election results. He also said that the CM will be decided on the basis of which party wins the most number of seats in the alliance, something that has not gone well with MVA ally Shiv Sena (UBT).

"There is no hurdle anywhere by not announcing the CM's face. No need to think about it now. Who should lead should be decided according to the numbers. There is no need to make any arrangements before elections," the NCP (SP) president said. 

Pawar's comment comes at a time when Shiv Sena (UBT) has been pitching Uddhav Thackeray as the potential chief ministerial face of the MVA bloc.

During his Delhi visit, Thackeray met all the key decision makers in Congress, including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal and strategist Sunil Kanugolu. The Congress urged Uddhav to agree for a joint survey to decide seat distribution and avoid any conflicts within the alliance.

Thackeray, on the other hand, asked the grand old party's leadership to do away with the formula wherein the CM chair will be given to the party that wins the maximum number of seats after the elections.

According to Thackeray, this could create fissures in the alliance, as each party would start demanding the most number of seats to maximise their chances of winning. 

The veteran of Maharashtra politics also gave an update on the seat-sharing talks among the MVA partners. Pawar said that he wants the MVA leaders to complete the seat-sharing process and start the election campaign at the earliest.

"MVA leaders should sit for talks from September 7-9," he said. Pawar added that he expects the election process to get over by November second week. 

Sharad Pawar also spilled the beans on who he wants to be MVA's partners in the upcoming electoral contest in Maharashtra. He said that the MVA should include Peasants and Workers party (PWP), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) as well. 

"These parties have some pockets of influence in the state and they helped the MVA in the Lok Sabha elections," Pawar Sr said. Maharashtra is likely to go to polls later this year.