'Your leaders have left': Congress rejects Uddhav Sena's demand for 23 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra

The Congress has rejected Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena's demand for 23 seats in Maharashtra for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, India Today reported on Thursday. The Shiv Sena (UBT) is part of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), formed after Uddhav broke the decades-long alliance with the BJP and formed the government with Congress, and the NCP in 2020. However, in June 2022, Eknath Shinde, the second-most powerful leader in the party, split Sena, taking away most of the MLAs and MPs.  

Recently, the leaders from the three parties - Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP - met to discuss the seat-sharing for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The Shiv Sena demanded 23 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, despite the majority of its members with Eknath Shinde. The Congress rejected the demand saying it did not have enough leaders who could win the seat for the party. The Congress representatives at the meeting made it clear that the grand old party appeared to be the only one with a stable vote share in the state, following splits in the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP.

Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said Uddhav Thackeray's Sena faces a significant challenge as it lacks sufficient candidates due to the party's division.

Ashok Chavan, another senior Congress leader, said there was a need for adjustment among the MVA parties but said Sena's demand for 23 seats was "excessive given the current circumstances".

"Shiv Sena may demand 23 seats, but what will they do with them? Shiv Sena's leaders have left, causing a crisis. Lack of candidates is a problem for Shiv Sena," Nirupam said.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the undivided Shiv Sena and BJP contested together and swept the state by bagging 41 of 48 seats. The BJP contested 25 seats and won 23, while Shiv Sena fielded its candidate on 23 seats and won 18. The BJP had a better strike rate compared to the Sena.  

The Congress and NCP had also contested together but they could win just 5 seats. The NCP won 4 of the 19 seats it contested while Congress managed to get just 1 of 25 seats. This time, NCP too has been weakened due to the split caused by Ajit Pawar, nephew of party supremo Sharad Pawar.    

(With inputs from Sahil Joshi)