Numbers don't matter, winning seat important, says Sanjay Raut
Fissures among the INDI Alliance partners notwithstanding over distribution of Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Congress and NCP have toned down tough talking in public. Senior leaders of Congress and Sena seem to have decided to sort out issues through internal discussions. While Congress state Chief Nana Patole was mellowed down in Delhi, Senior Uddhav Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Raut also sent a similar signal.
He said, “It is not important who contests how many seats; we need to defeat the unholy ruling alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.”
When asked whether the Sena would insist on contesting 23 seats as stated earlier, he told Lokmat, “Numbers don't matter.” He declined to elaborate saying, “Wait and see. We may have some new allies.”
It is learnt that Prakash Ambedkar may also join the alliance in Maharashtra. During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) joined hands with AIMIM and both parties contested all 48 seats polling 7.65% votes. This time, he is keen to contest under INDIA.
The Uddhav Sena had contested 23 seats and won 18 polling 23.5% votes in 2019 Lok Sabha polls while the BJP won 23 out of 25 it contested polling 27.84% votes. Though the majority of Sena MPs joined hands with Shinde Sena, the Uddhav faction was insisting on contesting 23 seats. But lately it seems to have toned down its demand and winnability criteria is under discussion.
In 2019 polls, the AIMIM emerged as a force in Maharashtra damaging the prospects of Congress-NCP and clinched a seat for its candidate Imtiyaz Jaleel. The INC contested 25 seats polling 16.41% and could win one seat only while NCP contested 19 polling 15.66% winning 4 seats. The NCP supported candidate Amravati's Navneet Ram who later joined hands with the BJP.
