Maharashtra Politics is now looking somewhat clear, it is expected that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) settle for fewer constituencies in the seat-sharing talks for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra. Party sources have refused to confirm any formula but unofficially it is said the NCP has been offered 114 seats as opposed to the 124 it contested in 2004. This means the Congress gets the remaining 174 seats. However, Congress spokesperson Mohan Prakash told The Hindu that the party had never insisted on numbers and said the seats would be shared as per the delimitation of constituencies. Since Tuesday night the Congress and the NCP have been discussing the seats they would share. They had another round of talks on Wednesday morning and continued parleys in the evening after a break. Unconfirmed sources said 200 of the 288 seats were finalised and the remaining were the contentious ones.
Boosted by its unexpected showing in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Congress which won 17 seats, took a tough stand right from the beginning. Pradesh Congress Committee president Manikrao Thakre said that after delimitation, the Congress had a claim to 173 seats. He has been saying that the party has a claim to more seats, keeping ground realities in mind. Meanwhile NCP leader Praful Patel, who is part of the talks, told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday that the deal would be finalised in a couple of days. He admitted his party was willing to give up some seats to the Congress. The NCP had contested 124 seats in 2004 and won 71 of them. The Congress and allies had won 69 of the 164 seats they had contested last time. Its numbers swelled to 75 after Sena rebel Narayan Rane, now State Industries Minister and his supporters switched loyalties to the Congress.
Boosted by its unexpected showing in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Congress which won 17 seats, took a tough stand right from the beginning. Pradesh Congress Committee president Manikrao Thakre said that after delimitation, the Congress had a claim to 173 seats. He has been saying that the party has a claim to more seats, keeping ground realities in mind. Meanwhile NCP leader Praful Patel, who is part of the talks, told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday that the deal would be finalised in a couple of days. He admitted his party was willing to give up some seats to the Congress. The NCP had contested 124 seats in 2004 and won 71 of them. The Congress and allies had won 69 of the 164 seats they had contested last time. Its numbers swelled to 75 after Sena rebel Narayan Rane, now State Industries Minister and his supporters switched loyalties to the Congress.
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