Final Seat-Sharing Of MVA Can Be Announced By Friday Morning: Patole

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said the final seat-sharing formula of the MVA alliance would be announced by Friday morning.

Pune:The final seat-sharing formula of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance would be announced by Friday morning, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said on Thursday. The party has already asked some of its candidates who are certain to get tickets for the November 20 state assembly elections to file their nomination papers, Patole told reporters here.

"The final seat-sharing will be announced by today evening or tomorrow morning," he said. After days of stalemate, the opposition alliance on Wednesday announced that the Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) would contest 85 seats each of the total 288, and talks for the remaining seats were underway.

Earlier on Thursday, Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut indicated that there could be the swapping of some seats among the allies, and his party could eventually contest 100 seats. Meanwhile, asked about Congress workers shouting slogans declaring him as the Congress's chief ministerial face, Patole said their first task is to bring the MVA to power. "The decision on the CM post will be taken by the high command," he added.

Asked about the controversy over the sale of a reserved 35-acre land parcel in Pune by the state government to a builder, Patole said Maharashtra needed to be saved, "so it is our responsibility to save Maharashtra."