MUMBAI : The Congress high command on Friday gave the green signal to the Maharashtra party unit to have a friendly contest on five Lok Sabha constituencies if the alliance partners refuse to concede the seats to them, party sources said.The Maharashtra Congress unit held a meeting of its top leaders to discuss the seat-sharing differences with alliance partners — Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP).“Congress is keen to contest these five Lok Sabha seats — Sangli, Bhiwandi, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North East, and Mumbai North West. But Shiv Sena (UBT) has staked claim over all Mumbai seats. Also it has asked for Sangli,” a Congress leader said, requesting anonymity.“NCP (SP) is asking for Bhiwandi though they do not have a strong candidate. In Sangli, Sena (UBT) has neither a candidate nor the network. This is not acceptable to us. We informed our strong feelings to the party high command,” the leader said.Another leader said the Congress high command has given the green signal for friendly contests in these disputed seats.“We surely want the alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) but are not ready to concede the seats where our winning chances are high. The partners want to grow but we are not here to run a charitable trust and throw our stronghold seats to BJP,” he added.Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “Shiv Sena is the big brother in Maharashtra, so it will contest more seats.” He said the Congress should leave more seats to them because they want to make Rahul Gandhi the prime minister.
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