Mumbai, March 5 (IANS) The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is likely to finalise its seat-sharing pact for the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, at the last round of talks scheduled for March 6, official sources said here on Tuesday.
However, suspense continues on the role of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) headed by Prakash Ambedkar, and the number of seats it may be offered to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, besides satisfying the demands of other smaller allies.
The VBA stumped the Opposition bloc last week by seeking at least 27 parliamentary seats, plus a unilateral choice of its candidates in certain constituencies, which was reportedly ‘unacceptable’ to several MVA constituents.
Claiming that the VBA is fully geared up for parliamentary polls Ambedkar has threatened several times that he is prepared to go solo in all 48 constituencies if the MVA alliance fails to consider his demands.
On Monday, NCP-SP National General Secretary, Dr. Jitendra Awhad, publicly appealed to Ambedkar to join the seat-sharing efforts and help safeguard democracy and the Indian Constitution in the interest of future generations.
As per current indicators, the MVA may allot the VBA around 10 per cent (four or five) of the Lok Sabha seats, plus three or four seats are likely to go to other smaller allies.
The remaining 40 constituencies shall be divided among the major MVA allies, i.e. Congress-NCP-SP-Shiv Sena-UBT as per their formula, plus they would also accommodate their own allies, if needed, said a NCP-SP leader.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the top leaders slated to seal the deal — barring any last-minute glitches — include Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole, NCP-SP President Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena-UBT President Uddhav Thackeray, VBA President Ambedkar, and the representatives of the six other smaller parties.
