After Haryana drubbing, Congress in a huddle for Maharashtra elections

A Congress functionary said the party is keen on fighting in at least 110 seats even as Sena (UBT) wants to field its candidates from some Congress strongholds.

The Congress on Monday held a meeting to chalk out its strategy for the Maharashtra assembly elections and took stock of key issues such as seat sharing with its allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and poll guarantees, as it sought to avoid mistakes that led to the party’s defeat in the Haryana elections earlier this month.

Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole speaks to the media after attending the meeting at the residence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge, in New Delhi on Monday. (ANI/Ritik Jain)

The meeting chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in the national capital was attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, leader of opposition in Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar and senior leader Balasaheb Thorat.

According to one of the functionaries cited above, the meeting assumes significance as the party faces considerable pressure from its allies – the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) – over distribution of seats and “possible dilution of votes” due to the Maratha quota agitation by activist Manoj Jarange-Patil. He was referring to Patil’s demand for reservation for Marathas through inclusion of the community in the Other Backward Class (OBC) segment.

A second Congress functionary said the party is keen on fighting in at least 110 seats even as the Sena (UBT) wants to field its candidates from some Congress strongholds.

“The Congress asked its leaders in Maharashtra to reach out to various committees and make it clear that it will fight in at least 110 seats,” the functionary said. This came amid the Sena (UBT)’s alleged bid to fight some Muslim-dominated seats, including one in Central Mumbai, which the Congress wants to retain for itself.

A third functionary said the discussions were primarily held on the status of the seat-sharing talks, formulation of strategy and the party manifesto.

“Taking a lesson from Haryana, where the narrative over the seven guarantees of the Congress was short-lived and failed to create an impact, the leaders in Maharashtra have been asked to chalk out a plan for maximum outreach of a joint declaration of the three MVA partners,” the functionary said.

The Congress was heavily tipped to sweep the Haryana elections by pollsters and pundits, but ended up winning 37 seats in the 90-member assembly. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to grab 48 seats to claim a historic hat-trick.

The Congress, for the Maharashtra elections, wants its candidates and polling agents to remain cautious and note any discrepancies in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) that will be used during the voting process, the third functionary said.

In the Haryana elections, the Congress had alleged glaring discrepancies in EVMs that were used in the polling process and sought a probe in the matter.

After the meeting, Patole addressed the media. “The strategy for the Maharashtra polls was discussed. We will move forward with our alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi. We will overcome all the horrible tactics of the Bharatiya Janata Party that it uses in its politics and form an MVA government in Maharashtra. There is no issue of seat sharing. The MVA will fight on all 288 seats,” he said.

Elections for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly are likely to take place next month. The term of the current assembly ends on November 26.

In 2019, the undivided Shiv Sena won 56 seats, the Congress 44 and the undivided NCP 54.

(With agency inputs)