MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar held a closed-door meeting with his party leaders on Thursday to discuss seat sharing for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the allocation of seats has been broadly finalized.According to the discussions, the Congress will be allocated 18 to 20 seats, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena will also receive 18 to 20 seats, while the Sharad Pawar-led NCP will contest for eight seats. Additionally, two to three seats will be allocated to Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. Following the meeting, NCP’s state president Jayant Patil stated that Sharad Pawar had discussed the seat-sharing formula for the Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections over the phone with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. “Shard Pawar and Rahul Gandhi have spoken over the phone. I met Pawar to discuss the ongoing seat-sharing talks and organizational matters,” Patil added.Sources indicated that Pawar has conveyed the demands of Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Aghadi and aims to finalise the seat-sharing arrangements as soon as possible.“The seat-sharing arrangement among the opposition parties will be announced before Rahul Gandhi embarks on his Nyay yatra in Maharashtra. Earlier, seat sharing was finalised in UP and between AAP and Congress, with no issues in West Bengal as well” said a senior Congress leader who requested anonymity.Seat sharingSources indicated that Sharad Pawar has conveyed the demands of Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Aghadi and aims to finalise the seat-sharing arrangements soon. The arrangement among the opposition parties will be announced before Rahul Gandhi embarks on his yatra in Maharashtra
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