Mumbai:

The Maha Vikas Aghadi has completed nominations for all 288 seats for next month’s Maharashtra election, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said Wednesday amid speculation of confusion within the alliance over the division of seats.

However, addressing reporters with Nana Patole (the Congress’ state unit boss) and senior leader Varsha Gaikwad and Naseem Khan at his side, Mr Chennithala declared, “We are ready to fight this election today.”

On Tuesday – as the clock ticked past the deadline for nominations – it appeared the opposition MVA alliance, which consists of the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction, and the Nationalist Congress Party bloc led by Sharad Pawar – had not formally named candidates for 11 seats.

READ | Nominations Over, But Uncertainty Over 15 Seats In Maharashtra

The ruling Mahayuti alliance – the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sena and NCP factions lead by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy, Ajit Pawar – had apparently not filled four seats.

Speaking this morning, Mr Chennithala acknowledged “misunderstanding” between the MVA members but insisted there were no rifts between the allies as a result of that uncertainty.

He also slammed the ruling alliance for “fighting from each other’s quotas”, referring to more than one instance of BJP leaders contesting seats for the Shinde Sena or Ajit Pawar’s NCP group.

“There is misunderstanding between us (but) Mahayuti members are fighting amongst themselves. They are fighting from each other’s quotas… BJP leaders are fighting under Shiv Sena and NCP symbols. It is the BJP that is fighting alone… Shinde and Ajit Pawar are finished.”

The Congress leader also stressed, “We, in the MVA, have given equal treatment to all…”, a comment seen by many as countering criticism of the party after the Haryana election result.

The Congress, widely expected to record a comfortable win in the heartland state, raced into a big early lead as votes were counted October 8, but slipped to defeat by the BJP’s late charge.

The party’s allies, most notably the Thackeray Sena, were angered by what they said was the Congress’ failure to accommodate smaller and regional partners. The Thackeray Sena’s jabs – published in party mouthpiece Saamana – drew an immediate response from the Congress’ Maharashtra office, which said it valued their allies and would not act as the Haryana unit did.

READ | “Arrogant, Overconfident”: Allies Twist Knife In Congress Over Haryana

“There are a lot of differences within the Mahayuti… the BJP’s stealing of seats from allies is a clear message it wants to kill off its allies. But we (the MVA) are together…” Mr Chennithala said.

There will be no ‘friendly fight’ within the MVA, he stressed, referring to unfortunate situations in the April-June general election that saw occasions in which members of the Congress-led INDIA bloc fielded candidates for the same seat.

As far as the MVA is concerned, as of Tuesday evening it appeared the Congress had nominated 103 candidates, while the Thackeray Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP had named 87 each.

In each case it was over the 85 per party agreed upon.

Some of the 11 remaining seats are expected to go to smaller allies and the Samajwadi Party, but there is no clarity on which party gets which seats, or even how many.

From the other side, as of now the BJP has named 152 candidates, Ajit Pawar’s NCP 52, and Shinde’s Sena 80. This includes seats for smaller allies – four from the BJP and two from the Shinde Sena.

An example of the confusion on this side of the fence was Nawab Malik, with the Ajit Pawar NCP faction, filing two nominations, one as an independent candidate.

READ | BJP’s Shaina NC Switches Party After Eknath Shinde’s Seat Offer

In another instance, BJP spokesperson NC Shaina joined the Shinde Sena and was fielded from the Mumbadevi seat after a lack of clarity over her former party’s plans for her.

READ | NCP’s Nawab Malik Files 2 Nomination Forms, Sparks Buzz, Clarifies

The delay and indecision emphasises the premium placed on Maharashtra and this election, which is expected to be a referendum on the last several years of political upheaval in the state.

Over the last two years, the state has been rocked by political turmoil – the Sena split and subsequent collapse of the MVA government, as well as controversy over the BJP and the rebel groups taking power. This was followed by a split in the NCP. The repercussion was felt in the Lok Sabha election.

The MVA won 30 of the state’s 48 seats, while the ruling alliance got only 17.

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Mumbai:

BJP Spokesperson Ganesh Hake on Saturday said that his party’s alliance with NCP is like an ‘incompatible marriage’ and the party will suffer badly if they continue with the alliance for the upcoming Assembly elections.

“The truth is that neither they (NCP) like that alliance nor we (BJP) like it. Our alliance with them is like an association with undeserving people. This alliance is an incompatible marriage. We will suffer badly if we continue with this alliance during the Assembly election,” Mr Hake said.

Mr Hake, who comes from the Latur district in the Marathwada region, claimed that the BJP’s alliance with NCP is “unfortunate”.

He also alleged that during the Lok Sabha elections, the NCP did not work for BJP nominees in a true spirit of alliance.

“The NCP legislator Balasaheb Patil from Ahmedpur Assembly constituency from Latur district did not work for the BJP candidate who was ultimately defeated,” Mr Hake said.

“Did NCP work for BJP’s Lok Sabha nominee from Latur? Did NCP follow the alliance dharma in true letter and spirit? Instead, NCP legislators, leaders, and activists were sitting in the Congress camp and working against the BJP nominee by taking money from us,” he alleged.

NCP legislator Amol Mitkari taunted Mr Hake, saying that he is a gentleman, righteous and intelligent person but why he is not taken seriously by the BJP, is a puzzle to a common worker like him.

“Mr Hake, who has been marginalised for so many years in his party, has criticised NCP with the hope that he will get a nomination for the Assembly election. He made such remarks to get a new energy,” he said.

Earlier, Shiv Sena Minister Tanaji Sawant said: “I am a hardcore Shiv Sainik. I have never gotten along with Congress and NCP since I was a student. Today, even if I sit next to NCP in the Cabinet, when I come out I vomit. This cannot be tolerated.”

NCP Chief Spokesperson Umesh Patil said that NCP should get out of the MahaYuti alliance and also demanded that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should sack Tanaji Sawant from the ministry.

State NCP Chief Sunil Mr Tatkare also criticised Mr Sawant for his anti-alliance remarks.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar have been repeatedly asking their party cadres to strengthen the MahaYuti to take strongly on the Maha Vikas Aghadi in the upcoming Assembly election.

However, the scathing remarks by Mr Sawant and Mr Hake have exposed the widening rift in the MahaYuti which is under attack from Maha Vikas Aghadi over many issues concerning the state.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)