Amid talks, VBA turns down MVA’s offer of four LS seats

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray urges Congress to finalize seat-sharing for Lok Sabha polls before Rahul Gandhi's rally on March 17.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has asked the Congress leadership to finalise a seat-sharing formula for the Lok Sabha polls before the grand rally organised at Shivaji Park on March 17 to mark the culmination of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodi Nyay Yatra.

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A meeting between senior leaders from three parties of Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) - Congress, Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) - went on at a city hotel till late Friday night. Senior Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Mukul Wasnik also attended the meeting. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar was not invited.

Meanwhile, Ambedkar has rejected MVA’s offer of four seats.

“We have outrightly rejected the offer as the party was expecting double the number of seats than what was offered,” Ambedkar said and added he would discuss the issue with MVA leaders in the coming days.

According to a Congress leader, Thackeray accepted Congress’s invitation to attend the Shivaji Park rally. “While doing so, he also asked Congress leaders to visit Matoshree, Thackeray’s Bandra residence.”

After the meeting, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said there are no differences over seats within the three parties. “Our discussion on 48 seats has been completed. We will declare a formula soon. There is no dispute in the MVA.”

According to sources, Rahul Gandhi will begin the Lok Sabha election campaign at the Shivaji Park rally. All the leaders from the INDIA bloc have been invited for it. Among those who have confirmed their presence are Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP founder Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.