Mumbai: The last date of filing nominations for the Maharashtra assembly polls brought some clarity on the seat-sharing formulae of the two main alliances in the state, the ruling Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which were negotiating power-sharing till the eleventh hour. It, however, also brought out the fissures within the two alliances, with there being “friendly fights” on several seats and rebellions in others.

The differences are more apparent within the MVA than the Mahayuti.

In the MVA, the Congress fielded 102 candidates, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) 96 and NCP (Sharad Pawar) got 87, with four tickets for smaller allies.

This is the first state election after the traditional political alignments in the state underwent a churn and two major regional parties split, bringing more parties and candidates in the fray.

“There will be 3-4 places where we will see friendly fights. But overall, the seat sharing is done,” deputy chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis told media persons Tuesday. 

Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) told the media Wednesday: “We are hopeful that things will be resolved. In around 90 percent places, we have been successful in convincing people. This has not happened across the state but in some places there are dual candidates and we have time till 3 November, which is enough for us.”

A Congress who spoke to ThePrint on condition of anonymity too said: “The last date of withdrawal (of nominations) is 4 November. We will solve those issues by then.”

Political observer Abhay Deshpande told ThePrint that the ruling alliance seemed more coordinated in its bid to iron out internal differences. 

“It is not that there is no fight in the Mahayuti, but they seemed to be coordinated well. They had meetings with Amit Shah and tried to resolve their differences. They even adjusted some of their seats by sending people to alliance partners. There are still some conflicts in a few seats but on the surface, the ruling alliance has more urge to continue to be in power,” he said. 

A total of 288 constituencies will go to polls as Maharashtra votes in a single phase on 20 November. Results will be announced on 23 November.

Also Read: In Pawar bastion Baramati, Yugendra up against his own Goliath. Uncle Ajit has never lost an election

Rebellions and ‘friendly fights’ in Mahayuti & MVA

In some parts of Maharashtra, the Mahayuti is expected to see ‘friendly fights’. 

For example, in Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, the Shinde Sena has fielded Suresh Patil, but its ally, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, has fielded Nawab Malik for the same seat. Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar constituency has been represented by Samajwadi Party’s Abu Azmi for three consecutive terms, and he is contesting this time too. In Purandar too, the Shinde Sena will fight Ajit Pawar’s NCP.  

In Morshi, the BJP has fielded Umesh Yawalkar while the NCP has repeated its sitting MLA Devendra Bhuyar. The allies will also go head to head in Ashti, located in Beed district. 

In Dindori, the NCP’s sitting MLA Narhari Zirwal will take on a Shinde Sena candidate. 

Suhas Kande, the sitting MLA of Shinde’s Shiv Sena from Nandgaon, Nashik, will be contesting against Sameer Bhujbal — Chaggan Bhujbal’s nephew who is in NCP (Ajit Pawar) — in the fray as an Independent. 

In Borivali, BJP’s Gopal Shetty has filed as Independent, while the official candidate of the Mahayuti is from Shinde Sena.

In Andheri East, against BJP’s Murji Patel, Shiv Sena (Shinde) candidate Swikruti Sharma, wife of former police officer and encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, has filed her nomination as an Independent. 

In the MVA, the rebellion and infighting seems more intense. In at least 2-3 seats, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is pitted against The Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), its smaller ally. 

In at least 11 seats, there is a friendly fight between MVA partners. For example, in Digras, Sena UBT and Congress will go head to head. In Paranda, the Sena UBT and NCP (Ajit Pawar) will be fighting for a seat currently held by Shinde Sena’s Tanaji Sawant, who is also a cabinet minister. In August, Sawant had while speaking at a public event said he never got along with the NCP leadership. “Even if we sit next to each other in the cabinet, I feel like vomiting after coming out,” Sawant said at the time.

In Solapur district’s Pandharpur seat, it is Congress versus Sharad Pawar’s NCP. In Sangola, also in Solapur, it is Sena UBT’s Dilip Salunkhe versus MVA ally PWP’s Babasaheb Deshmukh. In Miraj, located in Sangli district, it is Sena UBT versus Congress.

Mahayuti in better form?

Despite rebellions, the Mahayuti seems to have handled coordination better. The BJP has managed to send at least 10 candidates to Shinde Sena and NCP. These include Shania NC, former Union minister Raosaheb Danve’s daughter Sanjana Jadhav, Nilesh Rane, Sanjaykaka Patil, Nishikant Bhosale, and Prataprao Chikhalikar.

In the MVA on the other hand, the friction seems more out in the open.

During seat-sharing negotiations, Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut and Congress state chief Nana Patole locked horns over many seats. 

Until the last minute, the rift between the leaders simmered publicly with Raut even warning the Congress. “If this infection (of fielding candidates against allies) spreads across the state, it will create problems for the MVA,” he said Monday. 

Nana Patole retorted saying: “We, at the state level, cannot comment on it. It is my humble suggestion to Raut that he should direct his criticism to the opposition.”

Deshpande, quoted earlier, said that during the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress was in a way cornered in terms of seat-sharing. What happened in the Sangli seat is an example. The Congress wanted to field Vishal Patil, grandson of former Maharashtra chief minister Vasantdada Patil, but the Uddhav Sena was bent on fielding wrestler Chandrahar Patil. Vishal Patil ultimately contested as an Independent and won.

Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, the responsibility of keeping the MVA intact was more on the Congress.

“Shiv Sena UBT as a party is aggressive and they took up an aggressive stance even in Lok Sabha. This time Congress wanted 120-odd seats, that didn’t happen. However, now even Sena has toned down a bit. But yes, their coordination was not at par comparatively,” Deshpande said.

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)

Also Read: Warm-up match ahead of Maharashtra assembly polls: Mahayuti & MVA lock horns over 4 MLC seats