Congress to review Lok Sabha results to prepare strategy for Maharashtra assembly polls soon

The Congress is keen to contest the forthcoming assembly polls, along with allies Shiv Sena UBT and NCP-SP, but wants to assess ground position before starting seat negotiations.

New Delhi: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has asked the Maharashtra team to assess the Lok Sabha (LS) results in the state so that the grand old party can prepare a strategy for the forthcoming Assembly polls. “AICC in-charge Ramesh Chennithala is likely to hold a meeting soon,” AICC secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Ashish Dua told ETV Bharat.

Elections for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly are likely to be held in November. According to party insiders, the Congress is keen to fight the ensuing assembly polls with allies Shiv Sena UBT and NCP-SP, but wants to assess the ground-level position before starting the seat negotiations likely to be held in July.

“All the parties are exploring the possibilities. The seat-sharing talks are likely to be held after the state assembly session, which is slated from June 27 to July 12. We want to go as MVA, but seat negotiations are going to be tough,” former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan told ETV Bharat.

In the previous 2019 national polls, the BJP had won 23 out of the total 48 seats in Maharashtra while its ally Undivided Shiv Sena had won 18 seats. In contrast, the Congress could win only one seat and the NCP four seats. In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly polls, the BJP won 105 seats out of 288, undivided Shiv Sena 56, NCP 54 and Congress 44 seats.

The BJP and Shiv Sena were allies, but parted ways after the assembly polls. The Shiv Sena joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form the MVA, which was in power till 2022.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress emerged as the single largest party with 13 of the total 48 seats while Shiv Sena UBT got nine and NCP-SP eight. The BJP won nine seats and its allies Shiv Sena Shinde got seven and NCP one. The lone Independent MP from Sangli Vishal Patil has pledged support to the Congress.

The Congress and its allies are upbeat over the 2024 Lok Sabha results, but do not want to take chances for the assembly elections.

“We need to decide whether the last national or state elections will become the basis for seat-sharing during the forthcoming assembly polls. An assessment of the Lok Sabha results is being done. Our position has been that the strongest candidate in a given seat should be nominated. In an alliance, we don’t fight but discuss and negotiate for seats as per our assessment,” said Chavan.

The former Chief Minister said the local issues will be prominent in state polls. “We gained in the Lok Sabha polls because of the bad economic policies of PM Modi, which made people angry with him, the PM’s divisive agenda and his faulty slogan of 400 seats, but issues would be different in the assembly polls. The MVA has a strong chance of coming to power, but the BJP and its allies are in power and have all the resources. Therefore, we must prepare a strong strategy to defeat them,” said Chavan.