Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) in Mumbai. The MVA parties are part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, an amalgamation of leading opposition parties came up last year to fight together in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, second highest after Uttar Pradesh which sends 80 members to the lower house of the Parliament.
Congress leaders Patole, Prithviraj Chavan, Varsha Gaikwad, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leaders Jayant Patil, Jitendra awhad and Anil Deshmukh, and Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut and Vinayak Raut participated in the meeting, according to news agency PTI. "Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, state Congress president Nana Patole and Prakash Ambedkar will meet to give final approval to the deal and it will be announced at a press conference," the Rajya Sabha member said. In the 2019 general elections, the BJP had won 23 Lok Sabha seats in the state, its alliance partner Shiv Sena (which was then undivided) had won 18 seats, undivided NCP had won four while Congress and AIMIM had won a seat each.
An independent candidate had won one seat. Some parties in the bloc have already sealed seat-sharing deals in many states, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, to name a few. In Delhi, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress on Saturday announced a formal seat-sharing arrangement in Delhi.
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