The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Friday, 29 May announced its seat-sharing arrangement for 15 of the 17 seats in the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council elections scheduled for June 18, with the last date for filing nominations set at June 1. A deadlock persists over the remaining two seats — Nanded and Nashik — where all three constituent parties have staked competing claims.

Key Developments in Seat Sharing

Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal announced the partial agreement at a press conference, stating that consensus had been built on which party would contest which seat among the 15 confirmed constituencies. He assured that the remaining two seats would be resolved within the next two days.

'A final decision on these remaining two seats will be made in the next two days. Since all three parties have staked a claim on the Nanded and Nashik seats, we have announced the decision for the other 15 seats today, excluding these two,' Sapkal stated.

Who Contests Where

Under the agreed formula, the Indian National Congress (INC) will field candidates in eight constituencies: Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Bhandara-Gondia, Amravati, Ahilyanagar, Solapur, Dharashiv-Beed-Latur, and the Nagpur bye-election.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) will contest five seats — Ratnagiri, Jalgaon, Parbhani, Hingoli, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) has been allocated three seats: Pune, Thane, and Satara-Sangli.

MVA's Broadside Against Mahayuti

Sapkal used the occasion to launch a sharp attack on the ruling Mahayuti alliance, alleging widespread horse-trading ahead of the polls. 'It is evident that massive amounts of money is being spent in this election. The situation has become a display of sheer money power. In many places, corporators are being lured and picked up by offering ₹5 lakh,' he said.

He further alleged that the poaching was not confined to opposition voters alone. 'In this election, it's not just the Opposition voters, but even the ruling parties are poaching voters from their own allies. This is the extent of the horse-trading underway,' Sapkal said.

Mahayuti Yet to Declare Formula

While MVA moved to formalise its arrangement, the Mahayuti alliance — comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) — is yet to officially announce its seat-sharing plan. According to sources within the alliance, BJP is likely to field candidates on 11 seats, Shiv Sena on four seats, and NCP on two seats, though no official confirmation has been issued.

With nominations closing on June 1 and the election just weeks away, both alliances face pressure to finalise their candidate lists. The resolution of the Nanded-Nashik impasse within MVA will be closely watched as a test of the coalition's internal cohesion ahead of the vote.