MVA finalizes seat sharing for Maharashtra assembly elections; Congress has 8 out of 17 seats

Maharashtra Congress Committee President Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged that the BJP was using the power of money to influence the polls. File | Photo credit: ANI

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Friday (May 29, 2026) said it had finalized a seat-sharing deal for the June 18 Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, with the Congress contesting the top eight of the 17 seats.

State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said the MVA, which also includes the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (SP), has reached a consensus on all 17 seats.

The Congress will contest in Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Bhandara, Amravati, Ahilyanagar, Solapur, Dharashiv and Nagpur (where by-elections are being held), he said.

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest on six seats: Raigad, Jalgaon, Parbhani-Hingoli, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nanded and Nashik. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP will contest in Pune, Thane and Sangli-Satara, Sapkal said.

The ruling BJP-NCP-Shiv Sena alliance is yet to announce its seat-sharing formula.

June 1 is the deadline for submitting nominations. Nominations will be reviewed on June 2nd, the deadline for withdrawals is June 4th, and voting will take place on June 18th. The votes will be counted on June 22.

Elected members of the local administrations form the electorate for the elections that are required after the six-year tenure of the incumbent MLCs.

The Solapur seat was held by BJP’s Prashant Paricharak. Ahilyanagar was represented by Arun Jagtap of the undivided NCP.

Thane was represented by Ravindra Phatak of the undivided Shiv Sena. Jalgaon was held by Chandubhai Patel of the BJP, while Sangli-Satara was represented by Mohanrao Kadam of the Congress.

Nanded was represented by Congress leader Amar Rajurkar. Yavatmal was represented by Shiv Sena’s Dushyant Chaturvedi. The Pune seat was held by NCP’s Anil Bhosale.

Bhandara-Gondia was represented by BJP leader Parinay Fuke. Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg was held by NCP leader Aniket Tatkare. Nashik was represented by Shiv Sena’s Narendra Darade.

Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli was represented by BJP’s Ramdas Ambatkar. Amravati was held by BJP’s Pravin Pote. Dharashiva-Latur-Beeda was represented by BJP’s Suresh Dhas.

Parbhani-Hingoli was represented by Shiv Sena leader Viplav Bajoria, while Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna was represented by Ambadas Danve of Shiv Sena (UBT). Nagpur was held by BJP leader and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who had to vacate the seat after being elected to the state assembly.

Discussions within the ruling Mahayuti coalition are in their final stages, sources said, adding that 16 of the 17 seats have been decided, while the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna seat is a sticking point.

The BJP is likely to contest 10 or 11 seats, the Shiv Sena four and the NCP two, sources said.

The BJP is expected to contest in Nagpur, Ahilyanagar, Dharashiv, Jalgaon, Solapur, Latur, Nanded, Amravati, Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli, Bhandara-Gondia and Sangli-Satara. Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde can compete from Thane, Yavatmal, Nashik and Parbhani-Hingoli. The Sunetra Pawar-led NCP is likely to win Pune and the Konkan seat.

Mr. Sapkal, meanwhile, alleged that the BJP was using money power to sway the polls.

“Corporators are lured by advance payments and elections are fought with the power of money,” the Congress leader claimed.

Published – 29 May 2026 18:44 IST