Congress-NCP To Contest On 125 Seats Each In Maharashtra Assembly Elections

The Congress-NCP alliance on Monday announced its seat-sharing formula in the Maharashtra Assembly elections nexr month, deciding to contest on 125 seats each. The remaining 38 seats will be given to smaller allies, said senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. NCP chief Sharad Pawar said the seat-sharing pact between the grand old party and his 20-year-old organisation has been finalised.

As per the arrangement, 38 seats will be left for allies to contest, he tweeted. Maharashtra Assembly has 288 seats. The NCP will give chance to "new faces" in the polls, Pawar said. Some seats will be exchanged with the Congress, he added.

In 2014, the two parties had contested the state elections separately. NCP had then ended the 15-year alliance after the two parties had been unable to reach a seat-sharing arrangement ahead of Assembly elections.

The Congress had won 42 seats while the NCP had won 41 seats in 2014 polls. The BJP had emerged as the single-largest party in the state with 122 seats. The finalisation of the seat-sharing pact between the Congress and NCP comes after many high-profile exits from both the parties, more so from the Pawar-led outfit.

Many of those who left have joined the BJP and a few have sought shelter with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.