Maharashtra Deputy CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis mocked the Maha Vikas Aghadi for the delayed announcement on seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He remarked, "They have been having meetings for 2.5 months but they haven't reached a decision yet. We made 80% of the decisions in just one meeting. We will decide the remaining 20% in the second meeting." Fadnavis' comments highlight the BJP's swift approach.
The party is yet to announce its formal seat-sharing formula with its MVA partners- the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party. The MVA parties are scheduled to meet on March 21 following which the third list of the Congress will be released, sources said. Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats. In 2019, the NDA (including un-divided Shiv Sena) won 41 of the 48 seats of Maharashtra. The NCP won four seats while the Congress could won one seat.
The Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases spread over 44 days starting April 19 in the world’s largest election, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi eyeing a third consecutive term in office. An important meeting of senior leaders of the Maharashtra Congress will be held in Mumbai today. Counting of votes will be taken up on June 4. According to the notification issued by the Election Commission on behalf of the President, the last date for filing nomination papers is March 27.