Maharashtra Congress may divide seats equally with NCP

MUMBAI: On the eve of the Congress and Nationalist Congress Part (NCP) alliance parters’ talks on seat sharing before the assembly elections in Maharashtra on Tuesday, there are indications that the grand old party is beginning to shed its big brother image in the negotiations.
Sharad Pawar’s NCP has already gone public saying it will seek equal number of seats as the Congress in the elections for 288 seats scheduled for December.

The Congress camp is not in a mood to vehemently oppose as it used to be the case before. “Itna toh banta hai,’ said a Congress leader speaking to ET. According to him, the Congress could look to divide the 288 seats equally between it and the NCP after roping in allies like Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

The Congress in Maharashtra has always been playing the big brother in the state with ally NCP during seat sharing talks, whether it is for Lok Sabha or the assembly polls. The Congress used to get a lion’s share, too.

The Congress argument for demanding more seats was that it is the bigger and stronger party than the NCP and hence would contest on more seats. The Congress may be on its way to shed its big brother attitude at least in Maharashtra after a drubbing in the last Lok Sabha elections in May.

“We are in no position to be adamant. The NCP has won four Lok Sabha seats, while we have won just one. Similarly, the NCP and we got almost the same number of seats when we contested the 2014 assembly polls separately, so we need to be practical,” said a Congress leader indicating that the party is in dire straits and can compromise on seats with the NCP to remain relevant.