No seat-sharing issues, MVA will form govt in Maharashtra: Patole after Congress meeting

New Delhi: Maharashtra Congress leaders held a meeting with the party’s top brass here on Monday, with state unit chief Nana Patole asserting that there are no issues of seat sharing among the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents and the coalition will form the government in the state, overcoming the BJP’s “horrible tactics”.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Patole, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar and senior leader Balasaheb Thorat attended the meeting at Kharge’s 10, Rajaji Marg residence.

“The strategy for the Maharashtra Assembly polls was discussed. We will move forward with our alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi,” Patole told reporters.

“We will overcome all the horrible tactics of the BJP that it uses in its politics and form a Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra. There is no issue of seat sharing. The MVA will fight on all 288 seats,” the state Congress chief said.

The opposition MVA released a document on Sunday, calling it the “gaddarancha panchnama” (evidential record of traitors) to slam the Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra and accused it of betraying the state in favour of neighbouring Gujarat.

The MVA, comprising the Congress, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), has often accused the Maharashtra government of not doing enough to stop mega projects from going to Gujarat.

Addressing an MVA press conference in Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had said, “It is not just me and Sharad Pawar who have been betrayed by the traitors (a reference to the splits in the Shiv Sena and the NCP) but Maharashtra itself has faced betrayal. This is the biggest sin of the Mahayuti (the ruling alliance of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP).” The MVA leaders said the “gaddarancha panchnama” lists the state government’s “rate card for purchase of MLAs and corporators, transfer of government officials, recruitment in government jobs” as well as scams in the Dharavi redevelopment project in Mumbai, road concretisation and in tenders.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh had said, “Today, the Maha Vikas Aghadi released a chargesheet against the Mahayuti government, aptly titled ‘Gaddarancha Panchnama’. This is a government which was formed on betrayal, which has sold out Maharashtra’s interests shamelessly, and which has sullied the ideals and legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj himself.” “It is a government that is on its last leg. With this, the countdown for its exit has begun,” he had said.

Assembly polls are due in Maharashtra later this year.