MUMBAI: After several weeks of negotiations, during which the three opposition parties in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) led by the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar) finalized a seat-sharing arrangement on Tuesday. Each of the parties had taken aggressive stances, claiming certain seats that they thought would be easy for them to win.

According to Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena (UBT), the final decision has been made in in-depth consultation with each other and bearing in mind the winning potential of the candidate for the MVA. Under the agreement, Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest the most seats at 21, followed by Congress with 17, and the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP with 10 seats across the state.

The final pact was revealed at a joint press conference held at 'Shivalaya,' the Shiv Sena (UBT) office in south Mumbai, in the presence of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, and Maharashtra State Congress president Nana Patole. It was evident that Congress had to make the most significant sacrifices, relinquishing its claims to the Sangli and Bhiwandi seats to Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) candidates, respectively. Additionally, Congress gave up its earlier claim on Mumbai South Central and will now contest only two seats in the city: Mumbai North and Mumbai North Central.

Sanjay Raut, who read out the list of seats allotted to each party, stated, “The seat-sharing arrangement announced by us is final. There will be no changes in the arrangement; we are united.” Patole added, “For us, victory against the BJP is the larger goal. That’s why we have to set aside certain differences regarding seat-sharing.” Uddhav Thackeray remarked, “Modi’s election rally coincided with the ‘surya grahan’ (solar eclipse) and ‘amavasya’ (new moon). You can predict for yourself what the result of this strange coincidence will be.”