Congress state unit president Nana Patole revealed on Saturday, that the Congress party, similar to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which is led by Sharadchandra Pawar, has compromised on seat-sharing for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections that recently took place across the country. This announcement was made a day after Sharad Pawar, the chief of NCP (SP), admitted that his party had agreed to contest for fewer seats in order to maintain unity within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
Patole, who was visiting Pune with the aim to review and analyze the party’s defeat in the local Lok Sabha seat, stated, “The Congress too also took the same stand (as Sharad Pawar’s party) for the LS polls.” He noted that the Congress received fewer votes in all but one of the five assembly constituencies within Pune. “Except the Cantonment Assembly Constituency, the Congress got less votes in all the five-assembly constituency. There are complaints that some workers in Pune did not work hard and helped the opposition party’s candidate. I will collect information and the party will take necessary steps.” Patole added.
Patole also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of misleading the Maratha community and Other Backward Classes (OBC) regarding reservations. He pointed out inconsistencies within the leadership of the BJP by shedding light on the fact that deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP president Chandrashekar Bawankule have differing views on the matter. “Bawankule says reservations above 50 per cent cannot be maintained. Fadnavis says reservations above 50 per cent can be given. There are two different opinions on the reservation issue among BJP leaders. They should clarify their exact stance,” he said.
“Conducting a caste-wise census through social, economic, and educational surveys and removing the 50 per cent limit is the only solution to the reservation issue,” Patole proposed to conduct a caste-wise census through social, economic, and educational surveys and lifting the 50 percent reservation cap as the only viable solution to the reservation issue.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut emphasized on Saturday that all parties within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are equal stakeholders. His comments were followed after Sharad Pawar made the statement that although the NCP contested fewer Lok Sabha seats, the scenario would differ in the Maharashtra assembly elections.
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Raut clarified that seat-sharing discussions among MVA allies for the Maharashtra assembly polls have not yet begun. “Seat-sharing talks have not yet commenced – neither with the NCP (SP) nor the Congress. So, the question of who will contest how many seats doesn’t arise. All are equal stakeholders,” he said while addressing the media on Saturday.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena secured the largest share of seats within the MVA, which also included the NCP (SP) and the Congress. The MVA managed to win 30 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, with the Congress emerging as the top party with 13 victories. Among the three MVA parties, the NCP (SP) had an 80 percent strike rate, the Congress 75 percent, and the Sena, which contested the most seats, had a 41 percent success rate.
“There are 288 (assembly) seats (in Maharashtra). There will be no shortage of seats for anyone. Everyone will contest comfortably,” Raut assured.
