No younger or elder brother in MVA, We’re triplets: Ashok Chavan

Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan said there is no elder or younger brother in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which comprises the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), and the partners are like triplets.

Chavan said the MVA constituents have not yet decided on a seat-sharing formula for the next year’s Lok Sabha elections. He was speaking to the media after a meeting of Congress leaders in connection with the 2024 general elections.

Asked if there is an elder brother or younger brother in MVA, Chavan said there was nothing of that sort. We are triplets, he said. The emphatic victory of the Congress in the recently held Karnataka elections has galvanised the MVA to put up a united challenge to the ruling BJP in the 2024 elections.

Chavan said the Maharashtra Congress has initiated primary-level talks for next year’s polls. Constituency-wise talks (of Congress) have not yet begun. We will call district-wise party meetings on 2 and 3 (June) in Mumbai. But the party (MVA partner) which is stronger in a particular area should contest that seat is a policy, he said.

Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the BJP had won 23 in 2019, followed by the then undivided Shiv Sena’s tally of 18. While the NCP won 4 seats, the Congress got one. We contested 26 Lok Sabha seats (in Maharashtra) last time. But this time the situation will be better compared to last time, Chavan added.