MUMBAI: Talks among Maha Vikas Aghadi constituents in Maharashtra are stuck over a few Lok Sabha seats and the stalemate will be resolved in a day or two, a Congress leader said on Thursday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the Congress leader said his party was involved in an impasse with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Ramtek (in Vidarbha) and Sangli (western Maharashtra) Lok Sabha seats, as well as on Bhiwandi (near Mumbai) with the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar).
The Shiv Sena (UBT) was adamant that the Congress leave Ramtek for it if the grand old party wanted Mumbai South Central, he claimed. “We have a candidate in Sangli, while NCP(SP) wants Bhiwandi, which is our seat. The Congress will now contest Mumbai North Central and Mumbai North East. Our party has swapped Wardha for Amravati with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP,” the leader said.
The Congress leader said communication had restarted with Prakash Ambedkar of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. “We hope the issue will be resolved soon. We are offering him (Ambedkar) four seats, including Akola that is part of our quota. The other (MVA) allies will release seats from their quotas in Marathwada, western Maharashtra and Mumbai (to accommodate VBA),” he claimed.
The political situation in 2014 and 2019 is different from what it is now, he added. The Congress leader said the party was also facing issues in Chandrapur where MLA Pratibha Dhanorkar, wife of late Suresh Dhanorkar, who was sitting MP, is seeking to contest. The party has asked senior leader Vijay Wadettiwar to contest from Chandrapur, whereas he wants his daughter Shivani to be given a ticket, the leader said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the Congress leader said his party was involved in an impasse with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Ramtek (in Vidarbha) and Sangli (western Maharashtra) Lok Sabha seats, as well as on Bhiwandi (near Mumbai) with the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar).
The Shiv Sena (UBT) was adamant that the Congress leave Ramtek for it if the grand old party wanted Mumbai South Central, he claimed. “We have a candidate in Sangli, while NCP(SP) wants Bhiwandi, which is our seat. The Congress will now contest Mumbai North Central and Mumbai North East. Our party has swapped Wardha for Amravati with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP,” the leader said.
The Congress leader said communication had restarted with Prakash Ambedkar of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. “We hope the issue will be resolved soon. We are offering him (Ambedkar) four seats, including Akola that is part of our quota. The other (MVA) allies will release seats from their quotas in Marathwada, western Maharashtra and Mumbai (to accommodate VBA),” he claimed.
The political situation in 2014 and 2019 is different from what it is now, he added. The Congress leader said the party was also facing issues in Chandrapur where MLA Pratibha Dhanorkar, wife of late Suresh Dhanorkar, who was sitting MP, is seeking to contest. The party has asked senior leader Vijay Wadettiwar to contest from Chandrapur, whereas he wants his daughter Shivani to be given a ticket, the leader said.
