Congress, Uddhav Thackeray wrangle over seats in Maharashtra threatening rift

Mumbai: As the assembly polls for Maharashtra are round the corner, the Congress and ally Uddhav Thackeray's faction of Shiv Sena are apparently drifting apart tussling over sharing seats in Vidarbha.

The Sena (UBT) demands 17 seats which the congress is not ready to give, alongside in Vidarbha the grand old party is confident to win all seats.

The two parties, despite their avowed unity in taking on the BJP, are wrangling over seats in Mumbai and Nashik.

The Uddhav Thackeray faction is looking forward to iron out differences after a war of words with Congress chief Nana Patole,

Vidarbha with 62 assembly seats, falling under 10 Lok Sabha seats, makes up 22 per cent of the seats in the 288-member assembly, which is crucial for a party to gain majority.

In the last Lok Sabha polls, the Congress emerged the best performer in Vidarbha winning five of the ten seats where the BJP won just two seats.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in total won seven seats in Vidarbha. The Shiv Sena (UBT) wants at least 8 of the 62 seats with the party leader Sanjay Raut claiming that his party deserve better, admitting that the Congress has a strong base in the region.

‘If we also get 1 or 2 seats, then there is no harm in it,’ he was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the Congress has accused the Sena (UBT) of creating rift in the alliance, while firmly digging its heel in.

Veteran leader and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar is reportedly struggling to patch up the rift.