LS polls: Rahul, Pawar discuss seat-sharing in Maharashtra

New Delhi: Congress President Rahul gandhi met NCP chief Sharad Pawar here on Wednesday and the two discussed the seat-sharing arrangement between their parties in Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha poll, senior NCP leader Praful Patel said.

Patel and the Congress’s leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, also attended the meeting held at Pawar’s residence.

Patel termed the meeting between the two sides as constructive.

“Constructive meeting with @INCIndia President @RahulGandhi ji at Hon. @PawarSpeaks Saheb’s New Delhi residence. I am certain that the comprehensive discussion is a positive step forward towards alliance,” he tweeted.

The two sides also discussed on who will leave seats for allies such as the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi and Raju Shetti’s Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana.

The NCP has been insisting that the two parties contest an equal number of seats from the state that sends 48 members to the Lok Sabha.

However, sources said they may agree to a formula under which the Congress will contest 25 while the NCP will contest 23. However, there was no decision on this.

In the 2014 polls, the Congress contested 26 seats in the state and won just two, while the NCP contested 21 and won four.