Cong, NCP finalise seat sharing deal amid exodus of key leaders

New Delhi: Amid old guards deserting Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), both the parties have finalised their seat-sharing formula for upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, which is scheduled to be held in October.

As per the final agreement, both the parties have decided to contest 125 seats each in next month's elections. In 2014, both parties had contested separately in which Congress had won 42 seats while NCP had won 41 seats.

While announcing the seat-sharing pact, former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said that the seats have been finalised between the grand old party and NCP which is 20-year-old organisation.

"As per the arrangement, both the parties will contest 125 seats each, while 38 seats have been left for allies to contest," Chavan said. Notably, the Maharashtra assembly has 288 seats. As per senior Congress leaders, the grand old party has decided to field it's all sitting MLAs as well as senior leaders including former chief ministers Prithviraj Chavan and Ashok Chavan.

The Congress has asked Ashok Chavan to contest 2019 assembly elections in place of his wife Ameeta Chavan, who is a sitting MLA representing Bhokar assembly seat in Nanded district.

The NCP has planned to give chance to "new faces" apart from exchanging some seats with Congress. "It will also be very important as who will contest from which seat and who will be the candidates for 2019 assembly polls," Pawar said adding that a decision would be taken soon on seat-sharing among other allies such as Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathan, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi and Left Parties.

It's noteworthy that in 2014, NCP and Congress had contested the state elections separately as NCP had then ended the 15-year alliance after both the parties had been unable to reach a seat-sharing arrangement ahead of assembly elections.

Congress had won 42 seats while the NCP had won 41 seats in 2014 polls and the BJP had emerged as the single-largest party in the state with 122 seats. The seat-sharing pact has been finalised between the Congress and NCP after some key leaders of both the parties switched their sides and many of the turncoats joined BJP, while others went to Shiv-Sena camp.