Mumbai: The dispute within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance over seat allocations for the Maharashtra Assembly polls escalated on Thursday, with Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) vying for control over six key minority-dominated constituencies in Mumbai.

A marathon three-hour meeting involved key figures from the alliance: Sanjay Raut and Anil Desai from Sena (UBT), Jitendra Awhad and Jayant Patil from NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Nana Patole and Atul Londhe from Congress. The discussions reached an impasse over six crucial seats—Byculla, Kurla, Ghatkopar West, Versova, Jogeshwari East, and Mahim—between Congress and Sena (UBT). Additionally, the NCP has staked a claim to Kurla, Versova, and Ghatkopar West. Following a strong performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections, where Congress secured 13 of the 30 seats won by the INDIA bloc in Maharashtra, the party is pushing for more representation in Mumbai. Sena (UBT) and NCP won nine and eight seats respectively in the same elections.

The Congress is focusing on regaining its traditional vote bank in minority-dominated areas, which has been shifting towards the Uddhav Sena. Sena (UBT) has requested 20 out of the 36 Assembly seats in Mumbai and its suburbs, while Congress is seeking 18 and NCP (SP) wants seven. Discussions on five additional seats—Mulund, Vileparle, Borivali, Charkop, and Malabar Hill—are still pending.

Jitendra Awhad from NCP (SP) assured that the alliance would resolve the seat-sharing dispute and present a unified front in the Assembly polls. "There is no fundamental difference between Congress and Sena (UBT), and we are confident of securing victory in the upcoming elections," he said. The MVA leaders plan to hold further meetings over the next two days to finalize the seat-sharing agreement. Once the Mumbai allocation is resolved, the final list of candidates for the rest of Maharashtra will be announced.

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