The Maha Vikas Aghadi allies are set to hold seat-sharing talks from September 18 to 22 for the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra, said Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday.
The three allies — Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) — will hold deliberations on the seats to be contested, and the formula once decided during this will be final, he said, reported PTI.
The elections for the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly are likely to be held in the second week of November.
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"Talks on seat-sharing among MVA partners will be held from September 18 to 20. The meeting will be held for three consecutive days. The formula of which party will contest which seats will be decided and it will be final," Raut said.
The criterion for deciding the seats will be based on winnability, he stressed. On being asked about Congress and NCP (SP) clinching a higher strike rate than Shiv Sena in this year's Lok Sabha polls, Raut said his party's votes were transferred to these two parties in a big way.
Kolhapur, Amravati and Ramtek, the seats which Shiv Sena (UBT) has traditionally contested have been ceded to Congress, Raut said, adding that had these seats been with Shiv Sena, it would have won them for sure.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asserted that seat-sharing talks between ruling Mahayuti alliance partners will be finalised "soon".
Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule also said that the ruling coalition's formula for the distribution of seats has been finalised on "nearly 70-80 per cent" of the (288) assembly constituencies.
Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena, and the NCP constitute the Mahayuti alliance in the state.