Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said his party had reached a seat-sharing agreement with the Congress for all but three constituencies in Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha elections, the Hindustan Times reported. The state sends 48 members to the Lower House.
Pawar also denied speculation that his party will form an alliance with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena for the elections. “There are no talks going on between the two parties,” Pawar said.
The discussions about seat-sharing with the Congress will be completed in a week, Pawar said. He had met Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Delhi last week to discuss the seat-sharing arrangement.
“Our discussions with the Congress party are on,” the former Union minister said on Sunday. “Of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, we are waiting to reach a consensus only on three seats. Both, the Congress and the NCP, are analysing which party has better poll prospects on these three seats. The issue will be sorted out in the next eight days.”
Pawar told News18 that his party will give one seat from its share to the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, and the Congress will give some of its own to Left parties. The Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana is a farmers’ union led by Raju Shetti, who represents Hatkanangle constituency in the Lok Sabha.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had contested 26 seats and the Nationalist Congress Party contested 21. The Nationalist Congress Party won four seats and the Congress won two. For the Assembly polls later that year, the two parties ended their alliance.
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