MVA seat-share formula finalised: Supriya Sule

The decision was taken at a meeting of the leaders of Congress-NCP (SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT) in New Delhi. The leaders who attended the crucial meet included Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders of their respective parties

Mumbai: In a significant development, Nationalist Congress Party Working President Supriya Sule said on Monday that the seat-sharing formula of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has been finalised and only a formal announcement was pending.

Speaking to media persons here, Sule, MP, said that the decision was taken at a meeting of the leaders of Congress-NCP (SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT) in New Delhi, and now the formula will be sealed. The leaders who attended the crucial meet included Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders of their respective parties.

“The seat-sharing formula has been worked out and the announcement will be made in a week or so,” said Sule, declining to elaborate on the issue. She said that all the Opposition parties have come together to protect democracy, the Constitution and the development of the country.To a question, she said that the role of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Aghadi would be important for the national Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc. For over six months, the VBA has been clamouring to join the MVA and I.N.D.IA. bloc, and demanded 25 per cent or 12 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, but this has been spurned by a wary Congress and some leaders of other parties. Miffed at the delays and possible exclusion from the two alliances, VBA has threatened to contest all 48 seats solo, which could upset the calculations of the Opposition parties besides dividing their votes.