Uddhav Thackeray Holds Meeting with Congress Ahead of Maharashtra Elections

New Delhi:

The leader of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, is currently in Delhi for a three-day visit, with the main event being a planning session with partner Congress in anticipation of the upcoming state elections. The meeting with Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and other prominent figures such as Sonia and Rahul Gandhi is scheduled for tomorrow. Several other political parties from INDIA, including Trinamool Congress, are also set to convene later – marking their first gathering since the Lok Sabha polls.

Prior to the discussion with Sena, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Sonia Gandhi will have an internal meeting tomorrow. 

Sanjay Raut, the UBT leader of Shiv Sena, who is hosting Mr. Thackeray and his son, former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray, at his residence, stated, “Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi are currently in Delhi, so the deliberations will take place here. Our aim is to establish a government in the state.”

The state assembly elections for Maharashtra’s 288 constituencies are slated for October, with the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of Shiv Sena looking to make a strong comeback following the Lok Sabha results. 

In 2019, the BJP – in alliance with the united Sena under Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership – secured victory in 23 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats contested in Maharashtra. Shiv Sena contested the remaining 23 seats and emerged victorious in 18. 

However, this time around, the BJP only managed to win nine seats. Their allies — the breakaway groups of Sena under Eknath Shinde and NCP under Ajit Pawar — secured eight out of the 19 seats they contested.

The outcomes were perceived as the electorate’s response to the significant political upheaval that had gripped the state since the 2019 state elections. Over the past two years, the situation has escalated, resulting in consecutive splits within Shiv Sena and NCP, with the dissident factions in both parties aligning with the BJP.  

The president of Maharashtra Congress, Nana Patole, has already expressed certainty that a change in leadership is imminent in the state. 

With that objective in mind, tomorrow’s planning session is anticipated to outline a strategy. The discussions on seat-sharing for the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi — comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction — will take place in Mumbai, he added.