Despite ongoing negotiations, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has yet to reach a consensus on seat-sharing, with eight Lok Sabha seats remaining a point of contention among the allies, according to political sources on Thursday.
Key MVA allies, including the Congress, the NCP-SP, Shiv Sena-UBT, along with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and smaller parties, have engaged in over six closed-door meetings to find a resolution.
While an agreement has been reached on approximately 40 out of the 48 parliamentary constituencies, disagreements persist over eight seats, including four in Mumbai.
The situation grew more uncertain after Prakash Ambedkar's VBA unexpectedly submitted a list of 27 seats, requesting at least 15 OBCs and three minority candidates.
Final decisions are expected to be made by the top leaders of the MVA constituents, namely state Congress President Nana Patole, NCP-SP's Sharad Pawar, and SS-UBT's Uddhav Thackeray.
MVA allies express confidence in reaching a mutually agreeable solution by early March, well ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha election schedules.
Sanjay Raut of SS-UBT stated on Wednesday that the VBA's submission would be discussed, while Sharad Pawar emphasized the MVA's interest in including the VBA in the Opposition bloc.
However, some allies are privately displeased with Ambedkar's unilateral suggestion to nominate Maratha leader Manoj Jarange-Patil, backed by the MVA, as a Lok Sabha candidate from Jalna. Following recent developments, including a SIT probe ordered against Jarange-Patil for his role in the Maratha quota agitation, most Opposition parties have distanced themselves from him.
In response to the VBA's proposal, Jarange-Patil clarified late on Wednesday night that the Maratha quota agitation was not a personal political agenda, and he had no intentions of contesting the Lok Sabha polls.
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