Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament, Sanjay Raut, revealed on Friday that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has extended an offer of four Lok Sabha seats to the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) led by Prakash Ambedkar, leaving the decision to the latter for consideration.
Implicating Prakash Ambedkar for the current impasse in the MVA's discussions on seat-sharing in Maharashtra, Sanjay Raut indicated that the ball is now in the VBA's court to contemplate the proposal of four parliamentary seats.
In response, Ambedkar accused Raut of falsehood before the media, asserting that there remains a significant deadlock among the MVA allies - the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) - concerning 15 out of the state's 48 seats.
Ambedkar highlighted that at least 10 seats are being contested by both the Congress and SS (UBT), while five constituencies are being pursued by all three partners, with none showing willingness to concede even one seat, complicating the negotiation process.
Amid Ambedkar's claims of misrepresentation, Raut reaffirmed that the MVA leaders have reviewed the VBA's list of 27 'winnable' seats and have agreed to allocate four seats to Ambedkar, who now needs to make a final decision.
Scheduled for Friday evening, the MVA leaders are anticipated to convene for the concluding discussions, although Ambedkar has contested that the VBA has not been invited for these pivotal negotiations.
With the Election Commission of India slated to announce the Lok Sabha poll schedule on Saturday, the MVA leaders express confidence in finalizing the seat-sharing arrangement in the coming days or early next week.
They further pledge to ensure an equitable allocation of seats, accommodating all major and minor allies, with the collective objective of ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
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