Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole announced on Friday that seat-sharing negotiations for the upcoming assembly elections will be conducted solely at the state level. He said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance will represent the unified "face" of the Opposition.
Patole made these statements to reporters following a party meeting that included state leaders, Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal, and Maharashtra In-Charge Ramesh Chennithala. He asserted that the Congress would counter the false narrative propagated by the BJP since 2014 with a strong response.
Seat-sharing talks of the MVA allies -- which include Sharad Pawar-led NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) -- had not started yet, he told reporters. The state Congress leadership will talk to Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, and a meeting of the alliance will be called soon, Patole added.
"Our high command has told us that seat-sharing talks will be held at the state level itself, and the MVA will be the face of the Opposition," he said, when asked who will be the "face" of the Opposition.
Patole accused the Mahayuti coalition government of undermining Maharashtra's social and economic fabric. He also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for performing a `jal pujan' ceremony for a memorial dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea years ago, noting that the project has since stalled with no progress.