What is holding up Opposition seat-sharing deal in Maharashtra? These 8 seats, say MVA insiders

Seat-sharing talks in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have stalled over eight of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. Despite several meetings and claims, the Opposition alliance’s members who are part of the INDIA alliance nationally have not yet been able to settle on a seat-sharing arrangement for these seats.

Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) recently joined the MVA, which comprises the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the Congress. The eight seats that have become the bone of contention, according to sources, are Akola, Bhandara-Gondia, Hingoli, Kolhapur, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North West Nasik, Pune, and Wardha.

Nasik: Each party seems to be eyeing this north Maharashtra seat. In the 2019 polls, the undivided Shiv Sena’s Hemant Godse defeated the united NCP’s Sameer Bhujbal by more than 2.92 lakh votes. Godse has now shifted to the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, while Bhujbal is with Ajit Pawar’s NCP. The tension, sources in both parties said, would be resolved after each party finalises its candidates.

Kolhapur: All three parties are staking claim for Kolhapur because they all have a sizable cadre base there. Last time, Sanjay Mandlik of the undivided Sena defeated the united NCP’s Dhananjay Mahadik by 2.7 lakh votes.

While Mandlik is now in the Sena, Mahadik went on to join the BJP and was given a Rajya Sabha berth. As per sources, Shrimant Shahu Chhatrapati who is a descendant of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, the fifth Chhatrapati of the Maratha empire, could be the Opposition’s unanimous candidate from the seat. The party symbol that he will contest has not been finalised, sources said.

Mumbai South Central: This urban