As the Maharashtra assembly election dates have been announced, cracks are emerging within the INDIA alliance. On one side, there’s a dispute between Congress and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) over seat distribution, while on the other, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Abu Azmi has expressed displeasure with Congress for not inviting them to the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) meeting.
Akhilesh Yadav, SP’s national president, has also started his campaign, holding rallies in Malegaon and Dhule without Congress, signaling displeasure over seat-sharing issues within the alliance.
Familiar Situation Like in Madhya Pradesh
This situation is reminiscent of the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh just a few months before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Back then, discussions between Congress and SP over seat allocation dragged on until the last minute. SP had requested around 12 seats, but Congress raised objections, leading to a dispute. Eventually, SP fielded its candidates independently, although it couldn’t secure any seats. However, it did manage to spoil Congress’s chances in certain constituencies.
Why is Madhya Pradesh Relevant to Maharashtra?
A similar scenario seems to be playing out in Maharashtra. SP is reportedly eyeing around a dozen seats and has also been pushing for a seat-sharing agreement in Haryana, but negotiations there did not bear fruit. After facing defeat in Haryana, SP is now adopting the Madhya Pradesh strategy in Maharashtra. SP is speeding up its election preparations and is prepared to contest independently if a seat-sharing agreement is not reached.
The SP’s active stance sends a clear message to Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar) that whether or not a formal alliance happens, SP will still contest the elections. Maharashtra SP chief Abu Azmi has also stated that they are fully prepared to contest alone if necessary. He added that if SP contests alone and the Muslim vote gets divided, MVA will be responsible for the outcome.
