Congress, NCP To Contest 125 Seats Each In Maharashtra Elections: Sharad Pawar

In 2014, the two parties had contested the state elections separately. NCP had then ended the 15-year alliance after the two parties had been unable to reach a seat-sharing arrangement ahead of Assembly elections.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar (L) and NCP senior leader Prafulbhai Patel (R) speak to each other. FILE PIC/AFP.

Mumbai:  For the upcoming Assembly polls  in Maharashtra, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress would divide the seats equally between them after accommodating other allies. The NCP and the Congress will contest 125 seats each in next month's state polls, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Monday. Even though the discussion on all 288 seats is not complete, Pawar announced that the seat-sharing pact between the grand old party and his 20-year-old organisation has been finalised. As per the arrangement, 38 seats will be left for allies to contest, he tweeted. Maharashtra Assembly has 288 seats. NCP will give chance to "new faces" in the polls, Pawar said. Some seats will be exchanged with the Congress, he added. In 2014, the two parties had contested the state elections separately. NCP had then ended the 15-year alliance after the two 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. The BJP had emerged as the single-largest party in the state with 122 seats. The finalisation of the seat-sharing pact between the Congress and NCP comes after many high-profile exits from both the parties, more so from the Pawar-led outfit. Many of those who left have joined the BJP and a few have sought shelter with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena. Meanwhile, Sources have also told ABP News that Congress has advised all senior leaders of Maharashtra to contest assembly election this time. (With additional information from PTI)