Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly Election, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, spoke about seat-sharing in the India alliance on Friday. He stated that his party intends to contest 23 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. Raut mentioned that the seat-sharing discussions with the Congress have to "start from zero" since the Congress had not won any seats in the previous elections. This statement elicited a strong response from the state Congress.
On seat sharing in INDIA alliance, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut says, "...This is Maharashtra and Shiv Sena is the biggest party here. Congress is a national party... Uddhav Thackeray is having positive discussions with the decision-making leaders of Congress including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. We have always said that Shiv Sena has always been fighting on 23 seats in the Lok Sabha elections and during our (INDIA alliance) meeting, we decided that discussions will be done later on the seats that we have won. Congress did not win a seat in Maharashtra so they have to start from zero (seats) but Congress is an important ally for us in MVA..."
Congress leader Milind Deora Reaction
In response to Sanjay Raut Statement, Congress leader Milind Deora expressed that the Congress is leading the Opposition in Maharashtra and emphasized that no alliance can progress without consulting the local leadership of the state. Deora conveyed through a post on X, "According to Sanjay Raut ji, despite the loss of its 40 MLAs, Shiv Sena UBT remains the largest party in the MVA. He suggests that Congress should begin negotiations starting with zero seats." Deora added that Mr. Sanjay Raut is referring to the party that is the largest opposition party in the Maharashtra Assembly and leading the opposition, highlighting the importance of consultation with local leadership for any alliance, a sentiment also endorsed by AICC.